An aerial drone photo taken on May 2, 2026 shows reefs in the territorial waters of China's Huangyan Dao in the South China Sea. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

The China Coast Guard (CCG) organized a rights-protection law enforcement and management and control exercise in the waters near Huangyan Dao, focusing on operations involving visit, board, search and seizure, interdiction of forced entry, and forces towing, Jiang Lue, a spokesperson for the CCG, said on Saturday in a statement.

Videos obtained by the Global Times show that during the exercise, the CCG conducted a series of law enforcement operations, including launching small boats, pursuing targets at sea, and boarding and inspecting vessels. Experts said that the publicly released training scenarios undoubtedly constitute a "show of cards," and that relevant countries should carefully consider the consequences they may face if they continue provocative actions and infringements.

The video shows that the exercise completely simulated real-world scenarios. During the boarding inspection and arrest segment, CCG officers carrying police equipment boarded a Chinese fishing vessel acting as a stand-in for a foreign vessel. During the forcible towing segment, CCG law enforcement boats used a "two-ship pincer" maneuver to forcibly take away a high-powered speedboat.

The subjects publicly demonstrated in this CCG exercise are highly targeted and amount to a full-process, combat-oriented response to potential criminal acts by relevant countries that threaten China's territorial sovereignty over the waters of Huangyan Dao, Yang Xiao, a researcher at the Institute of Peace and Development Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Saturday.

Yang explained that boarding inspections and arrests involve boarding and inspecting foreign vessels attempting to intrude into China's territorial waters around Huangyan Dao and apprehending relevant criminal suspects. Intercepting and blocking intrusions involve using compulsory measures such as water cannons or ramming and pushing tactics to prevent foreign vessels attempting to force their way into the waters around Huangyan Dao from entering the controlled area. Forcible towing away represents an escalation of countermeasures, with the objective of forcibly removing infringing foreign vessels from the controlled waters or even forcibly detaining them.

It should be noted that the CCG's law enforcement actions are fully supported by law. According to Article 17 of the Coast Guard Law of China, foreign vessels that illegally enter China's territorial sea or internal waters may be ordered by the coast guard to leave immediately, or be subject to measures including detention, forcible expulsion, or forcible towing away. In addition, Article 46 provides that when foreign vessels illegally engage in production activities within waters under China's jurisdiction and refuse to comply with orders to stop, or otherwise refuse boarding and inspection, and other measures are insufficient to stop the illegal acts, coast guard personnel may, after warnings prove ineffective, use handheld weapons.

"The exercises conducted by the CCG in the waters near Huangyan Dao are undoubtedly a 'show of cards.' They are intended to make countries attempting to infringe upon China's rights and engage in provocations clearly understand that the CCG's law enforcement actions around Huangyan Dao are not only supported by law but will also be carried out strictly in accordance with the law. If relevant countries intend to escalate their provocations, they should first carefully weigh the consequences," Yang said. 

Yang further argued that the exercise deliberately increased the level of difficulty, as the foreign vessels involved in infringing activities around Huangyan Dao do not yet possess the capabilities or performance demonstrated by the "blue force" vessels used in the drill.

CCG also emphasized in the statement that Huangyan Dao is China's inherent territory. The China Coast Guard will strengthen rights protection, law enforcement, and control efforts in the waters near Huangyan Dao and resolutely safeguard China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.