China’s coastguard staking claim to contested reefs in South China Sea
Regular patrols at the Malaysia-administered Luconia Shoals signal Beijing intends to pursue its claims in the South China Sea, analysts say
Near constant patrols by China’s coastguard at Luconia Shoals off the coast of Malaysia are a signal from Beijing that it plans to maintain a maritime presence within its contested claim to most of the South China Sea, analysts say.
Three different Chinese vessels were patrolling regularly in the first two months of this year near the shoals, some 1,600km from China but only 145km north of Borneo, according to data from the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI).
A report by AMTI said there was nothing unusual about China’s heavy coastguard presence at the shoals this year. It said up to 11 coastguard vessels, including a 5,000-tonne ship, have been in regular rotation in these waters since early last year.
Administered by Malaysia, the shoals are also claimed by the mainland and by Taiwan. The coastguard presence there “speaks to Beijing’s determination to establish administrative control throughout the nine-dash line”, the report said.
Beijing claims almost 90 per cent of the waters of the South China Sea, based on a map from 1953 that demarcates this region with a nine-dash line.
The AMTI report said the Chinese activity at the shoals had not attracted much media attention. It added that the coastguard vessels left the contested waters in late 2015, right before Malaysia hosted two high-profile summits, but returned soon after.
