Chinese vessels cause most South China Sea clashes: Report

While the risks of full-blown naval conflict dominates strategic fears over the disputed waterway, the danger of incidents involving coast guards should not be underestimated, said Bonnie Glaser, a regional security expert at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank.CSIS researchers have detailed some 45 clashes and standoffs in the South China Sea since 2010 in a survey due to be published on its China Power website. 

While the research includes clashes between a variety of regional states and types of vessels, the actions of China’s coast guard dominates the picture. China’s coast guard has been involved in 30 of the cases logged, two-thirds of the total. Four other incidents involved a Chinese naval vessel operating in a law enforcement capacity. “The evidence is clear that there is a pattern of behaviour from China that is contrary to what law enforcement usually involves,” said Glaser. 

“We’re seeing bullying, harassment and ramming of vessels from countries whose coast guard and fishing vessels are much smaller, often to assert sovereignty throughout the South China Sea.” The research includes the violent maritime stand-off between Beijing and Hanoi over the placement of a Chinese oil exploration rig off the Vietnamese coast in 2014, as well as tensions that led up to China’s occupation of the Scarborough Shoal off the Philippines in 2012. China’s State Oceanic Administration, which oversees the coast guard did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the research.