China Marine Surveillance


China Marine Surveillance was a maritime surveillance agency of China.
Patrol vessels from China Marine Surveillance are commonly deployed to locations in the South China Sea and East China Sea where China has territorial disputes over islands with its neighbors. The CMS has played a central role in China's increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea, encountering opposition from Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam in the disputed territories, as China tries to lock up natural resources to meet its demands as the world's largest energy consumer.
One senior US naval intelligence officer has suggested that the mission of China Marine Surveillance is to "harass other nations into submitting to China's expansive claims."
The agency has been disbanded in July 2013 and has now been merged, along with three other similar agencies, with the China Coast Guard.

Organization and function

Established 1998, the CMS, charged with the supervisory responsibility for some 3 million square kilometers of Chinese declared territorial waters, employs some 7,000 individuals and operates some 10 aircraft, including at least one Mil Mi-8 helicopter and two Harbin Y-12 utility planes, and 400 seagoing vessels. It has grown in fleet size and capability. Its fleet is made up of, in part, destroyers and other former Chinese Navy vessels.
In March 2013, China announced it shall create a unified Coast Guard commanded by the State Oceanic Administration. The move has now merged China Marine Surveillance with the China Coast Guard.

North China Sea Fleet

The North China Sea Fleet was led by both North China Sea Branch, State Oceanic Administration and China Marine Surveillance.

NameBuilderDisplacementCommissionedHome portStatus
Haijian 01 54,182012Renamed China Coast Guard 2401
Haijian 15 Wuchang Shipbuilding1,740January 2011Qingdao, ShandongRenamed CCG-1115 under the China Coast Guard.
Haijian 23 Renamed China Coast Guard 1123Renamed China Coast Guard 2401
Haijian 26 1125April 2011Qingdao, ShandongRenamed China Coast Guard 1126
Haijian 110 3,000November 2012Renamed China Coast Guard 1310. Formerly a tug boat Beituo 710 in the North China Sea Fleet of PLA Navy
Haijian 111 5,000November 2012Renamed China Coast Guard 1411. Formerly an icebreaker Haibing 723
Haijian 112 Renanmed China Coast Guard 1212
Haijian 137 3,000November 2012Renamed China Coast Guard 2337
Haijian 167 Renamed China Coast Guard 3367
Haijian 168 Renamed China Coast Guard 3368
Haijian 169 Renamed China Coast Guard 3469
Haijian 852 Decommissioned

East China Sea Fleet

The East China Sea Fleet was led by both East China Sea Branch, State Oceanic Administration and China Marine Surveillance.

NameBuilderDisplacementCommissionedHome portStatus
Haijian 41 201.51
Haijian 44 201.51
Haijian 46 Wuchang Shipbuilding1,101April 2005Ningbo, ZhejiangActive
Haijian 47 656.66September 1973Ningbo, ZhejiangActive
Haijian 49 996.7Around 1997Ningbo, ZhejiangActive
Haijian 50 3,336ShanghaiActive
Haijian 51 Wuchang Shipbuilding1,937November 2005ShanghaiActive
Haijian 52 2,4212000ShanghaiPlanned to be inactive soon
Haijian 53 284
Haijian 66 Huangpu Shipbuilding1,290

South China Sea Fleet

The South China Sea Fleet is led by both South China Sea Branch, State Oceanic Administration and China Marine Surveillance.
NameBuilderDisplacementCommissionedHome portStatus
Haijian 27 1,200Active
Haijian 71 Wuchang Shipbuilding1,111Haizhu, Guangzhou, GuangdongActive
Haijian 72 Wuchang Shipbuilding898.8Haizhu, Guangzhou, Guangdong?
Haijian 73 Guangzhou Shipbuilding1,118Haizhu, Guangzhou, GuangdongActive. Formerly Xiangyanghong 03
Haijian 74 Wuchang Shipbuilding996Haizhu, Guangzhou, GuangdongActive.
Haijian 75 Huangpu Shipbuilding1,290October 2010Haizhu, Guangzhou, GuangdongActive
Haijian 78 Active
Haijian 79 Active
Haijian 83 3,980Active
Haijian 84 Wuchang Shipbuilding1,740May 2011Guangzhou, GuangdongActive
Haijian 88 Active

Deployments around Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands

According to the State Oceanic Administration, the following operations in the territorial waters around Senkaku Islands have been carried out by CMS, which is now known as China Coast Guard.

DateShipsOperationsJapan's ReactionRef
September 14, 2012Haijian 50, 15, 26, 27, 51, 66Cruise and patrolJCG ships expelled the CMS ships. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters "We strongly request that the Chinese authorities leave our territory". China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded and described the patrol as a "rights defense law enforcement action, to reflect the Chinese government's jurisdiction over the Senkaku Islands and safeguard China's maritime rights and interests."
April 23, 2013Haijian 51, 23, 46, 50, 15, 49, 66, 137Monitored and expelled Japanese vesselsJCG ships warned the CMS ships to leave the area. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed "regret" over the incident when he attended a meeting of the Japanese House of Councillors Committee on Appropriations. Japanese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs :ja:河相周夫|Chikao Kawai called in Cheng Yonghua, the China's ambassador to Japan, and raised a "strong protest" against China's actions. Kawai requested CMS ships to leave, which was denied by Cheng. Cheng reiterated China's stance that China owns indisputable sovereignty over Senkaku Islands and did not accept the protest.
April 26, 2013Haijian 51, 23, 46Cruise and patrolJCG ships warned the CMS ships to leave the area on radio.
May 5, 2013Haijian 50, 15, 66Cruise and patrolJCG ships warned the CMS ships to leave the area on radio.
May 13, 2013Haijian 50, 15, 66Cruise and patrolJCG ships warned the CMS ships to leave the area on radio. The chair of the :ja:アジア大洋州局|Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan :ja:杉山晋輔|Shinsuke Sugiyama protested to Han Zhiqiang, the Chinese envoy to Japan.
May 17, 2013Haijian 50, 26, 66Monitored and expelled Japanese vesselsJCG ships warned the CMS ships to leave the area on radio.
May 23, 2013Haijian 66, 46, 26Monitored and expelled Japanese vesselsJCG ships warned the CMS ships to leave the area. The chair of the :ja:アジア大洋州局|Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan :ja:杉山晋輔|Shinsuke Sugiyama called Han Zhiqiang, the Chinese envoy to Japan, and protested China's "intrusion".
May 26, 2013Haijian 66, 26, 46Monitored and expelled Japanese vesselsJCG ships warned the CMS ships to leave the area. The chair of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Shinsuke Sugiyama called Han Zhiqiang, the Chinese envoy to Japan, and protested this incident. China did not accept the protest.
June 14, 2013Haijian 51, 23, 49Monitored and expelled Japanese vesselsJCG ships warned the CMS ships to leave the area. The chair of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Shinsuke Sugiyama called Han Zhiqiang, the Chinese envoy to Japan, and protested this incident. China did not accept the protest.
June 22, 2013Haijian 51, 23, 49Monitored and expelled Japanese vesselsJCG ships warned the CMS ships to leave the area on radio.

Deployments within the South China Sea


OrdinalsTimeShipsOperationsVietnam's and Philippines' ReactionsRef