Thayer Consultancy Background Briefing:

ABN # 65 648 097 123

South China Sea: Will China
Sink Fishing Boats in the
Southern Spratlys?
Carlyle A. Thayer
April 11, 2020
I am writing to request your assessment of the recent sinking of a Vietnamese fishing
boat by the China Coast Guard. Does this reflect China's willingness to respond
aggressively towards foreign intrusion? Do you think this action will be replicated in
other parts of the South China Sea, especially in the southern Spratlys?
ANSWER: The 2 April ramming and sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat by a China
Coast Guard vessel is in accord with long-standing Chinese standard operating
procedures and does not yet signal a shift to a new more aggressive phase of Chinese
actions in waters around the Paracel islands.

Details of this incident

are both sketchy and
disputed by both parties.
In my opinion, China’s
claim that the
Vietnamese fishing boat
rammed the larger and
armed China Coast Guard
vessel is propaganda and
outright disinformation.
The picture on the left
shows the prow of the
Vietnamese fishing boat
intact when it should
have been damaged
(https://thanhnien.vn/thoi-su/ngu-dan-ke-chuyen-bi-tau-trung-quoc-dam-chim-o-
hoang-sa-1206348.html). It is more likely the actions by the Captain of the Chinese
Coast Guard vessel caused this mishap. The Captain may have erred in executing
intimidating runs at the Vietnamese fishing boat or the Captain may have
deliberately rammed the Vietnamese fishing boat out frustration or anger. We still
need more detail. China has not yet provided video evidence to back up its claim.
Both Vietnam and China claim sovereignty over the Paracel Islands. In May 1996, long
before the current maritime disputes arose in the South China Sea, China drew straight
 2

baselines around the Paracels. It views the waters contained within these baselines as
internal waters.
The Paracels comprise numerous land features. Vietnamese fishermen regularly
intrude into these waters and come close to land features at night because of the
market value of the seafood they obtain. This is a sensitive matter of sovereignty and
national security for the Chinese. In past years, China executed a phase of aggressive
boat ramming; seizures of boats, their equipment and fish catch; and even took
Vietnamese fishermen hostage for a ransom. China also declares an annual ban on
fishing during the spawning season.
In recent years the Chinese Coast Guard and Vietnamese fishermen have played a
game of ‘cat and mouse’. The China Coast Guard normally chases Vietnamese
fishermen from ‘Chinese waters’. There have been singular incidents where Chinese
fishermen have attacked Vietnamese fishing boats, seized their fish catch and
navigating equipment and left the boats adrift.
With respect to the southern Spratlys (and excluding the West Philippine Sea where a
Filipino boat was sunk by a Chinese fishing vessel a year ago), the mission of the China
Coast Guard is to harass oil and gas exploration by littoral states in waters claimed by
China and to protect China’s fishing fleet, especially in areas such as the waters off
Natuna Islands that are claimed on the basis of historic rights. Chinese maritime law
enforcement vessels have been involved in a handful of incidents with their
Indonesian counterparts, such as severing tow lines of Chinese fishing boats arrested
by Indonesian authorities. In one exceptional incident, a Chinese warship used
electronic countermeasures to interfere with the communication systems of an
Indonesian law enforcement vessel.
In sum, the Paracels islands and the ‘southern Spratly islands’ represent two separate
Chinese operational theatres. Having said this, this does not preclude exceptional
incidents such as the China Coast Guard ramming foreign fishing vessels. The China
Coast Guard incorporates ramming in its training programme. Chinese Captains are
granted virtual immunity from aggressive actions against foreign fishing vessels in
defence of national sovereignty.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, “South China Sea: Will China Sink Fishing Boats
in the Southern Spratlys?” Thayer Consultancy Background Brief, April 11, 2020. All
background briefs are posted on Scribd.com (search for Thayer). To remove yourself
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Thayer Consultancy provides political analysis of current regional security issues and
other research support to selected clients. Thayer Consultancy was officially
registered as a small business in Australia in 2002.