Fishermen On The Frontlines Face Beijing's Aggression In South China Sea

As China prowls through the South China Sea, fishermen and their small fishing boats from countries having counter-claims over islands are on the frontlines facing Beijing's wrath. Hundreds of Chinese coast guard and vessels belonging to Beijing's maritime militia in the South China Sea are reportedly attacking fishermen, damaging their boats, and also interfering with the oil and gas exploration and scientific research of countries that have claims in the waters. Beijing, which often invokes the so-called nine-dash line, to justify its claims over the South China Sea, has been seeking to assert its regional supremacy and control the waterways for decades by bullying small nations in the region. Trillions of dollars of cargo trade transit the South China Sea annually. In 2021, China unilaterally announced that it would take punitive measures against foreign fishermen caught operating within its self-claimed jurisdictional waters that extend to most of the South China Sea. As was recently reported, Beijing is paying hundreds of civilian ships and fishing vessels of the maritime militia to drop anchor around the disputed islands in the South China Sea region for months. China's militia ships are used to block the activities of other countries with claims in the South China Sea, a detailed report by the Center for Strategic & International Studies revealed.