2,000 Chinese boats form floating wall in East China Sea
Up to 2,000 Chinese fishing boats have gathered near the Sino-Japanese median line in the East China Sea at least twice since late last year, forming a floating wall stretching more than 400 kilometers (km), according to a geospatial data analysis company.
Experts believe ordinary fishers were mobilized as maritime militia to form a barrier blocking access by other vessels in the area and that similar activities are likely to continue, becoming a new normal.
The Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands, claimed by China, lie in the East China Sea. Beijing regularly sends its ships near the islets to press its territorial claim, referring to them as Diaoyu.
According to data collected by ingeniSPACE using an automatic identification system to track vessels, about 2,000 Chinese fishing boats formed a U-shape measuring around 470 km in length and 80 km in width between Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 on the Chinese side of the median line between the two countries’ shorelines.
On Jan. 11, about 1,500 Chinese fishing boats lined up across more than 400 km in waters straddling the median line.
