As we all know, there have been ongoing disputes in the South China Sea in recent times, and Vietnam, the Philippines and even the United States have been "making trouble".
A large number of Vietnamese fishing boats are getting closer and closer to the waters near Vanguard Bank in the South China Sea, as if they want to encircle. The Philippines is still quietly transporting materials to Ren'ai Reef in an attempt not to leave, although the Internet rumors that "China wants to forcibly tug" have caused heated discussions, but there has been no movement. In addition, the Philippine Coast Guard is not idle, nominally sending eight capital ships to military exercises near Scarborough Shoal, but in fact it wants to declare force and demonstrate.
And the United States is even more excessive, not only illegal entry but also illegal placement of buoys, illegal aerial surveillance. Later, he used the USS Reagan to not only patrol the South China Sea with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, but also colluded with the Philippines and Vietnam to provide them with rear support, hoping to support their cross-border behavior.
The broken boat that illegally beached at Mahkota Reef
However, it is not only this "fire" point, as far as the mainland is concerned, in addition to the continuous disputes in the South China Sea, as many as 43 islands and reefs have been illegally occupied, the East China Sea is also a land of right and wrong! In addition to the Diaoyu Islands, Suyan Reef, 150 nautical miles east of Nantong in Jiangsu and Chongming Island in Shanghai, and 132 nautical miles (247 kilometers) east of the Zhoushan Islands, is also a piece of "fragrant food" that is being contested.
At present, the fishing moratorium in the East China Sea between 35 degrees north latitude and 26 degrees 30 minutes north latitude is uniformly from 12 o'clock on May 1 to 12 o'clock on September 16. The East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, the Bohai Sea and other areas have implemented a fishing moratorium in the middle of the season, and the mainland has continued to cover the South China Sea since 1995.
The mainland itself implements this system from the perspective of protecting fishery resources and marine ecology, but I did not expect that other countries did not care, taking advantage of the mainland's fishing moratorium to carry out crazy fishing, and even gathered in large numbers near Suyan Reef.
Illegal fishing locations in South Korea
According to the AIS Automatic Ship Identification System, since May 1, a number of South Korean fishing boats have been fishing in the East China Sea for a long time, and the purpose of the trajectory map shows that the destination is from this sea area and then to South Korea, and the purpose is very obvious. At the same time, these fishing boats also stayed near Suyan Reef, so many netizens pointed out their doubts: Is South Korea using fishing in a vain attempt to encroach on Suyan Reef?
Anyway, let's take a look at the latest Korean fishing boat situation first:
According to AIS, at about 8:30 a.m., a large number of South Korean fishing boats were spotted in the western part of the East China Sea and the eastern part of mainland Zhousan. From the trajectory point of view, they are mainly concentrated around 30 degrees north latitude and 126 degrees east longitude, which is very dense with Korean ships.
By 17:00 p.m., it can be seen that in the area where Korean ships are concentrated, their speed is about 1.3-3.2 knots, and the area is concentrated at 30°09.2268'N, 124°58.6744'E, and 30°37.3839'N, 126°11.0249'E. However, compared to the morning, what is a little different is that at this time, the Korean ship found is generally surrounded by Chinese ships.
As of 9 p.m., this time looking at the East China Sea area, you will find that South Korean ships are still active in the afternoon, although there are no Chinese ships around at this time, but there are still Chinese ships surrounded by a large area, and the number of South Korean ships is still as high as tens or hundreds.
Returning to the East China Sea issue, on the surface, it may seem that South Korean fishing boats want to take advantage of the mainland's fishing moratorium to make a big profit, but in fact, it is also an infringement of sovereignty in essence, wanting to test the mainland's bottom line. You know, in the East China Sea, they also have a "fragrant glutton" they want to get - Su Yan Reef.
It is worth mentioning that in contrast to the embarrassing status quo of Suyan Reef, which has been illegally "occupied" by South Korea for 22 years, in fact, the waters around Suyan Reef have been used as fishing grounds for fishermen's activities in five provinces near the mainland since ancient times, and even from 1880 to 1890 it was clearly marked in the sea and land maps of the Qing government's navy division, and until 1938 there were still Chinese troops patrolling and guarding. Moreover, in folk tales, it has the reputation of "Sea Immortal Mountain" and "Penglai Immortal Island". All this proves that China and Suyan Reef have a deep connection.
Historically, not only did Chinese and foreign envoys witness and leave written records confirming that it belonged to China, but the geographical location of a person named "Sushan" was recorded in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Great Wilderness East Classic", and the Sushan here is Suyan, and the geographical location is completely consistent. After the modern scientific progress in the late Qing Dynasty and early People's Dynasty, it was confirmed that Suyan Reef is on the continental shelf of the East China Sea and belongs to China's territorial waters and economic zones.
Sovereign buoys set up by China
So, returning to the concerns of many netizens, what is the solution that the South Korean ship may essentially mean Suyan Reef? This starts with the illegal occupation of South Korea!
In 1952, South Korea arbitrarily included Suyan Reef in its own waters.
In 1970, South Korea privately listed Suyan Reef as the "fourth underwater development zone".
In 1987, South Korea illegally set up nautical buoys on Suyan Reef.
In 2001 , in order to expand the country's maritime exclusive economic zone , the Korean Geographical Institute illegally named Suyan Reef as an off-island island.
Since then, South Korea has carried out "riotous operations" such as illegally setting up large offshore platforms, infrastructure construction, and designating aviation identification zones on Suyan Reef.
A view of a large ocean platform illegally built by South Korea on Suyan Reef
South Korea has always regarded Suyan Reef as its own, but no one in China or even internationally recognizes it. This time, more than 100 South Korean ships entered the East China Sea on the mainland, taking advantage of the fishing moratorium to fish wildly, obviously touching the bottom line of the mainland. So in fact, on the 25th, there were relevant reports, saying that the mainland had given a strong "counterattack" - the China Coast Guard 2901 ship directly cruised near Suyan Reef in the East China Sea, and once entered the 12-nautical-mile sea.
There is no doubt that Suyan Reef is China's, and South Korean fishing boats are still so bold on the basis of being warned by the 10,000-ton giant ship 2901, and they are still gathering in large numbers in the closed waters of the mainland, which is a contempt for mainland sovereignty, and an attitude of wanting to explore the mainland. In fact, when South Korea does not dare to do anything to Suyan Reef blatantly, but makes small moves, the mainland's 10,000-ton giant ship cruising Suyan Reef has already said everything.
China Coast Guard ship No. 2901
According to Order No. 1 issued by the China Coast Guard, which came into effect on June 15, 2023, the China Coast Guard has the right to expel, arrest and seize foreign vessels and related persons engaged in illegal activities in the mainland's territorial waters, adjacent zones within the baselines of territorial waters, exclusive economic zones, continental shelves, and other waters under its jurisdiction.
As with the South China Sea issue, the mainland resolutely defends its territorial sovereignty and will fight back if it commits an offense. I advise other countries, including South Korea, that have provoked mainland sovereignty, but do not regret what they did today!