China is equipping its maritime militia, with more armed fishing boats bolstering its muscle in the disputed South China Sea, according to Zhang Hongzhou, a researcher from Singapore's Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
Equipped with armed civilian fishing boats, China's maritime militia is one of the less studied agencies in the exercise of Chinese maritime power, Zhang said at a two-day conference held at the Center for Naval Analyses. They are usually deployed by the Chinese government to carry out various types of missions in disputed waters, from rescuing stranded vessels to conducting controversial island landings. To enhance their activities, Beijing is for the first time considering the formation of the country's first fishing fleet, said Zhang, as cited in a report by the Tokyo-based Diplomat.
Zhang said such a decision will also boost volume for the world's largest producer and exporter of fish and consumer of seafood.
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