China’s fishing fleets are Beijing’s secret naval weapon

China is rapidly expanding its reach across the Indo-Pacific, deploying a shadow fleet of nominally civilian fishing vessels as a covert extension of the world’s largest naval force.

By weaponizing hundreds of thousands of fishing boats alongside the Chinese Navy (PLAN) and Coast Guard (CCG), Beijing has developed a gray zone militia strategy that threatens to blockade American and allied naval forces should a Taiwan contingency or conflict in the South China Sea erupt.

Both the PLAN and CCG have conducted gray zone operations around disputed islands and territorial waters claimed by Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines — with the fishing militia serving as the cutting edge of a hybrid warfare doctrine designed to encroach on neighboring territory while evading direct military confrontation.

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