For Taiwan invasion? China amasses thousands of fishing vessels in surprise move
India Today
Thousands of Chinese fishing vessels held coordinated manoeuvres off the coast of Taiwan and Japanese islands on at least two occasions in the last four months. Experts say fishing vessels are often employed by China's maritime militia and form a vital component in Chinese planning for an invasion of Taiwan.
Thousands of Chinese fishing boats have been gathering in geometric formations in the East China Sea in coordinated actions that experts believe are part of Beijing's preparations for a potential regional crisis or a potential conflict centred around Taiwan, according to reports.
According to the AFP report, ship tracking data analysed by researchers show between 1,300 to 2,000 vessels formed long parallel lines roughly 300 kilometres north-east of Taiwan on at least two occasions. The first was on December 25, 2025, and the second was on January 11, 2026.
The boats, which were detected using their Automatic Identity System (AIS) signals, held their position for about 30 hours, in near gale-force winds. The Chinese vessels had forced South Korean vessels to return to port in December, before they dispersed.
The formations were much larger than a previous incident in 2016, which involved around 200 to 300 Chinese boats gathering near the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands, which China claims as the Diaoyu, reported the Japanese news outlet, Nikkei.
"I've never heard of such a huge mobilisation before," Kyushu University's International Relations professor and an expert on Chinese maritime policy, Chisako Masuo, told Nikkei. "It could be seen as putting pressure on Japan and Taiwan," Masuo added.
Jason Wang, chief operating officer of the satellite analytics firm, ingeniSPACE, said the formation immediately stood out.
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