Defined: China’s ‘maritime militia’ dominating the South China Sea
China doesn’t acknowledge their existence and when questioned, refers to them as a “so-called maritime militia.”
But Western experts say the alleged militia is an integral part of Beijing’s efforts to exert its territorial claims in the South China Sea and beyond. They claim its blue-painted vessels and their crews — allegedly funded and controlled by the People’s Liberation Army — can quickly bring a Chinese presence so large around disputed reefs and islands they are almost impossible to challenge without triggering a military confrontation.
Analysts at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore say they’ve never seen a Chinese operation of this size before.
“The Whitsun Reef incident is unprecedented in scale and notable for its duration: the largest numbers of Chinese fishing vessels gathered at any time at one Spratly reef, and staying there for several weeks,” Samir Puri and Greg Austin, both senior fellows at the IISS, wrote last week on the…
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