WEBVTT - Here's Why China Uses Its Coast Guard to Push Territorial Claims

0:00:02.480 --> 0:00:10.200
<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News. I'm Stephen Carroll and

0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:12.720
<v Speaker 1>this is Here's Why, where we take one new story

0:00:12.760 --> 0:00:14.680
<v Speaker 1>and explain it in just a few minutes with our

0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:22.319
<v Speaker 1>experts here at Bloomberg Wellyam. China, the Philippines, Malaysia and

0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:26.640
<v Speaker 1>Vietnam all have overlapping claims and its massive waterway. Beijing,

0:00:26.680 --> 0:00:28.200
<v Speaker 1>though has claimed nearly all of it.

0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:31.160
<v Speaker 2>They have always seen this area as part of their

0:00:31.240 --> 0:00:35.160
<v Speaker 2>historical territory from the Han dynasty until now, and Philippines

0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:37.000
<v Speaker 2>claim for it in the Chinese eyes is something that

0:00:37.120 --> 0:00:38.240
<v Speaker 2>is very recent.

0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:40.560
<v Speaker 3>Here, yes, which are now being contested by China.

0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:44.960
<v Speaker 2>We're not contested by them. Unbuilt geological findings showed that

0:00:45.320 --> 0:00:46.920
<v Speaker 2>there might be natural gush.

0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:51.000
<v Speaker 3>It's clearly something that has led to a diplomatic issue.

0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:54.120
<v Speaker 3>Whether it's going to lead to further skirmishes militarily and

0:00:54.680 --> 0:00:57.680
<v Speaker 3>god forbid any fatalities is yet to be seen.

0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:01.680
<v Speaker 1>The seas around China can be rough, literally and politically.

0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:06.000
<v Speaker 1>Beijing has long standing territorial claims to various waters off

0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:09.600
<v Speaker 1>its coast. They've led to tensions with Japan, Taiwan, the

0:01:09.600 --> 0:01:13.200
<v Speaker 1>Philippines and others. China's Coast Guard has become an increasingly

0:01:13.240 --> 0:01:17.600
<v Speaker 1>important expression of these ambitions. Here's why China uses its

0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:23.240
<v Speaker 1>coast Guard to push territorial claims. Our China Defense reporter

0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:26.840
<v Speaker 1>Josh Hiao joins us now for more. Firstly, Josh, what

0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:30.160
<v Speaker 1>are the key territorial claims that China makes over the

0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:31.200
<v Speaker 1>seas around.

0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:34.440
<v Speaker 2>Its coast So there are three major claims that we

0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:37.440
<v Speaker 2>typically look at. One thing is, of course, the South

0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:41.520
<v Speaker 2>China Sea is one of China's most extensive claims, Chinese

0:01:41.560 --> 0:01:44.920
<v Speaker 2>claiming almost the entirety of the South China Sea. These

0:01:44.959 --> 0:01:49.400
<v Speaker 2>waters of course hosts fishery and energy resources, and at

0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:51.760
<v Speaker 2>the same time it's a water body that we see

0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:56.360
<v Speaker 2>overlapping claims from the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and even Taiwan.

0:01:56.760 --> 0:02:00.120
<v Speaker 2>So it's really a very crowded area. And then we

0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:03.160
<v Speaker 2>move on to the East China Sea. They're China, Japan,

0:02:03.240 --> 0:02:05.920
<v Speaker 2>and Taiwan again claim the Delhi Islands also known in

0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:08.280
<v Speaker 2>Japan as the and CaCO Islands. So it's a group

0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:13.440
<v Speaker 2>of five uninhabited islands administered by Japan, but tensions app

0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:16.920
<v Speaker 2>and flow around those waters and islands. And then, lastly,

0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:20.919
<v Speaker 2>of course, then there's Taiwan, self ruled democracy that Beijing

0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:23.720
<v Speaker 2>seas as part of its territory, but Taiwan insists that

0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:25.320
<v Speaker 2>it has its own.

0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:29.200
<v Speaker 1>Rules, so lots to consider. Let's talk about the use

0:02:29.240 --> 0:02:31.880
<v Speaker 1>of the coast guard. How does China use its coast

0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:33.919
<v Speaker 1>guard and how has that role evolved.

0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:37.919
<v Speaker 2>So China's coast Guard performs many of the same functions

0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:41.720
<v Speaker 2>as as global counterparts. So you think about intercepting smuggling vessels,

0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:46.720
<v Speaker 2>investigating marine perusian, combating illegal fishing, and carrying out such

0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:49.240
<v Speaker 2>and rescue missions. But then at the same time, its

0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:52.760
<v Speaker 2>road has expanded far beyond these traditional law enforcement areas.

0:02:53.040 --> 0:02:56.360
<v Speaker 2>Beijing is increasingly relying on the coast Guard rather than

0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:59.919
<v Speaker 2>the Navy. Also its territorial claims. They're doing patrols in waters,

0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:03.480
<v Speaker 2>they are escorting Chinese fishing fleets. They are even boarding

0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:07.600
<v Speaker 2>foreign vessels and sometimes using coursive tactics as we've seen

0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:10.720
<v Speaker 2>in the clash with the Philippines, firing of water cannons,

0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:13.919
<v Speaker 2>shining of military grade lasers, and sometimes they will use

0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:16.200
<v Speaker 2>the good old fashioned you know, stick and just hit

0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:18.880
<v Speaker 2>each other. So they resort to all of these tactics

0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:21.440
<v Speaker 2>to sort of challenge the activities of other countries in

0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:23.200
<v Speaker 2>those contested wars.

0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:25.720
<v Speaker 1>So what sort of resources does the Coast Guard have

0:03:25.840 --> 0:03:27.760
<v Speaker 1>to be able to carry out these duties.

0:03:28.240 --> 0:03:31.840
<v Speaker 2>As of twenty six according to the estimates by double Doublest,

0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:35.480
<v Speaker 2>it has ninety one patrol ships. That's up from twenty sixteen.

0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:38.240
<v Speaker 2>Some seventy one patrol ships, and some of its patrol

0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:42.240
<v Speaker 2>vessels can displace more times than most countries heavi as destroyers.

0:03:42.560 --> 0:03:45.400
<v Speaker 2>He also has a few landing ships and some logistics

0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:48.560
<v Speaker 2>and support vehicles, But the patrol ships really form the

0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:50.120
<v Speaker 2>majority of its fleet.

0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:52.240
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and that count from the naternata and ship for

0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:56.880
<v Speaker 1>strategic studies. Why then does China use the Coast Guard

0:03:57.160 --> 0:03:59.320
<v Speaker 1>for these kind of duties and not the Navy?

0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:02.280
<v Speaker 2>Right, So the reasons there are two fold. One thing

0:04:02.360 --> 0:04:07.120
<v Speaker 2>is that using Coast Guard vessels is less provocative than

0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:11.080
<v Speaker 2>navy because it gives China the ability to argue that

0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:14.880
<v Speaker 2>it was just conducting routine law enforcement even when the

0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:17.880
<v Speaker 2>other countries see its actions as threatening or illegal. But

0:04:17.920 --> 0:04:22.880
<v Speaker 2>it's not as supposedly provocative using the Navy. It also

0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:25.120
<v Speaker 2>feeds into this tactic, which we call the gray zone

0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:29.680
<v Speaker 2>tactic or grey zone operations whereby you are displaying your

0:04:29.720 --> 0:04:32.960
<v Speaker 2>effective administration over the waters that you claim. But then

0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:36.520
<v Speaker 2>it's sort like forcing between peace and war. So it

0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:39.240
<v Speaker 2>makes it a little bit more awkward for those other

0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:41.599
<v Speaker 2>countries to respond to the coast guard presence.

0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:44.279
<v Speaker 1>Well, let's talk a little bit about what those other

0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:47.120
<v Speaker 1>countries are doing in response. How are we seeing them

0:04:47.560 --> 0:04:49.960
<v Speaker 1>follow up to these moves by China.

0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:53.479
<v Speaker 2>So one thing is for Philippines alone, which really have

0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:56.239
<v Speaker 2>been involved in a lot of these clashes with Beijing

0:04:56.520 --> 0:04:58.960
<v Speaker 2>in the South China Sea. For the Philippines, it has

0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:03.160
<v Speaker 2>been trying to expand its fleets of Coast Guard vessels

0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:07.320
<v Speaker 2>and at the same time, the Philippines is also linking

0:05:07.400 --> 0:05:12.200
<v Speaker 2>up with other neighboring countries to slft heedback at Beijing's claims.

0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:15.400
<v Speaker 2>So we've seen the coastguards of Taiwan and Japan last

0:05:15.480 --> 0:05:19.000
<v Speaker 2>year agreed to expand joint training. The Philippines is also

0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:22.880
<v Speaker 2>working with Taiwan as well to ramp up their training

0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:25.360
<v Speaker 2>as well. And then most recently, like from the wave

0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:29.520
<v Speaker 2>of clashes, the US, Japan, and Philippines have actually conducted

0:05:29.560 --> 0:05:32.280
<v Speaker 2>a joint drill in the waters to self demonstrate their

0:05:32.720 --> 0:05:34.120
<v Speaker 2>resolution against Beijing.

0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:37.240
<v Speaker 1>Let's talk a little bit more about Taiwan, because this

0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:40.200
<v Speaker 1>is a special case in the context of the geopolitical

0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:43.880
<v Speaker 1>tensions in the region. How is Taiwan responding to this

0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:45.040
<v Speaker 1>use of the coastguards.

0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:50.480
<v Speaker 2>Taiwan believes that in a scenario where the Chinese military

0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:55.239
<v Speaker 2>were to invade Taiwan, a blockade would be enforced lightly

0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:59.400
<v Speaker 2>by the coast Guard to prevent firm vessels from coming

0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:01.880
<v Speaker 2>to taipease aid, and the coast Guard will be able

0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:06.120
<v Speaker 2>to escort Chinese vessels as well, and the Coast Guard

0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:09.000
<v Speaker 2>would also be able to work with the military in

0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:12.920
<v Speaker 2>terms of enforcing the blockade of amphibious lending campaigns. So

0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:15.560
<v Speaker 2>that's the road that the coast Guard would play in

0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:19.359
<v Speaker 2>a hypothetical invasion scenario. And right now what we are

0:06:19.360 --> 0:06:22.640
<v Speaker 2>observing to the east of Taiwan is that there's a

0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:27.680
<v Speaker 2>more institutionalized presence of Chinese vessels, official vessels, including the

0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:32.520
<v Speaker 2>Coast Guard, including those from Chinese ministries, and together these

0:06:32.600 --> 0:06:37.080
<v Speaker 2>vessels really forms expansion of China's grades on tactic because

0:06:37.120 --> 0:06:39.920
<v Speaker 2>previously they don't really operate in those waters. And I

0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:43.440
<v Speaker 2>think the Coast Guard's presence in those waters is alarming

0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.599
<v Speaker 2>in the sense that they are sort of asserting their

0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:50.160
<v Speaker 2>sovereignty in those waters, which then by rat includes Taiwan

0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:54.800
<v Speaker 2>as well, and they are also questioning ships that are

0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:58.279
<v Speaker 2>passing by in the enforcement of their sovereignty. Of course,

0:06:58.279 --> 0:07:00.719
<v Speaker 2>Taiwan maintained that, you know, those four ships should then

0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:04.039
<v Speaker 2>answer to Chinese coastcuss curies because they don't have the

0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:07.479
<v Speaker 2>legal rights on those waters. But from a foreign ships perspective,

0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:10.200
<v Speaker 2>it's better to just answer to those questions than not,

0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:12.560
<v Speaker 2>you know, so as not to attract any trouble. But

0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:16.640
<v Speaker 2>in debt, implicity has lent itself to the credibility all

0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:19.080
<v Speaker 2>the legitimacy of Chinese presencing those waters.

0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:22.040
<v Speaker 1>It's a really fascinating story and one being watched closely

0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:24.360
<v Speaker 1>across the region. Josh thank you very much for bringing

0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:28.400
<v Speaker 1>us details of this, Joshiao or China Defense Reporter. For

0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:31.280
<v Speaker 1>more explanations like this from our team of three thousand

0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:34.320
<v Speaker 1>journalists and analysts around the world, go to Bloomberg dot

0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:39.320
<v Speaker 1>com slash explainers. I'm Stephen Carroll. This is here's why.

0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:41.920
<v Speaker 1>I'll be back next week with more. Thanks for listening.