China Coast Guard conducts frequent patrolling, management and control missions in the waters between South China's Guangdong Province and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Photo: screenshot from the Wechat account of China Coast Guard

The China Coast Guard has launched frequent patrols in waters between South China's Guangdong Province and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

A large number of Coast Guard vessels recently conducted frequent maritime patrols, management and control missions between Guangdong and Hong Kong to track down maritime criminal activities in accordance with the law, the China Coast Guard announced in a video released on its official WeChat public account on Monday.

The campaign uncovered 19 cases of illegal border-crossing attempts involving 16 ships and 190 people, and 404 cases involving 379 suspects of attempted smuggling with 371 vessels, the Coast Guard said in the video.

The video shows Coast Guard ships and boats patrolling the sea, as an officer speaking in Putonhua and Cantonese uses a loud speaker to tell passing boats that the China Coast Guard will protect navigation safety and crack down on all illegal and criminal activities.

It also shows suspect boats surrounded by Coast Guard ships, as officers with assault rifles board the boats, divers inspect the boat's haul, and Coast Guard ships fire water cannons.

During a night operation, Coast Guard officers took several suspects into custody after boarding a suspect ship, the video showed.

The campaign has effectively safeguarded the stability of the maritime border between Guangdong and Hong Kong, the China Coast Guard said.

With the chaos in Hong Kong remaining unsettled, analysts said the China Coast Guard action served as a strong measure to ensure that criminals do not take advantage of the situation.

The Coast Guard showed China's determination and capability to combat illegal activities to criminals and some foreign forces, Li Daguang, a professor at the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army, told the Global Times on Monday.

On Friday, more than 1,000 police officers in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province conducted counter-terror exercises at the foot of the bridge connecting the city to Hong Kong and Macao, as law enforcement representatives from Hong Kong and Macao witnessed the event.

In August, Shenzhen, another city in Guangdong, held an exercise involving 12,000 police officers and equipment, including armored cars, helicopters and amphibious vehicles, with the People's Armed Police holding a large-scale exercise there in the same month.

Mainland netizens said they feel their lives are safe and secure thanks to them, and the Coast Guard and mainland police actions could give Hong Kong rioters a strong warning.