This book addresses the issues raised by Chinese and North Korean maritime ‘gray zone’ activities in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
For years, China has been harassing its neighbors in South China Sea and East China Sea, employing both coast guard and maritime militia forces, in the name of safeguarding Chinese sovereignty. This behavior is frequently characterized as constituting ‘gray zone’ activity. As the term suggests, this refers to a state of conflict that falls between peace and war. Interestingly, the Yellow Sea, which is geographically much closer to China than South China Sea or East China Sea, has been comparatively quiet. However, there is a danger that the PRC has the capability to replicate its gray zone activities in this area. Worse, North Korea has also been engaging in carefully-calibrated provocations there. This book addresses pressing questions about these activities and offers: (1) a conceptual framework to understand maritime gray zone operations and Beijing and Pyongyang’s approach, with an unprecedented focus on the Yellow Sea; (2) a comprehensive, fully updated fleet force structure for the PRC’s Coast Guard, together with projections regarding how the Coast Guard is likely to develop in the future; (3) an extensive organizational analysis of the PRC’s Maritime Militia that surveys the many units relevant to Yellow Sea operations, some revealed publicly for the first time; and (4) a detailed assessment of North Korean maritime ‘gray zone’ activities.
This book will be of great interest to students of naval strategy, maritime security, Asian politics, and international security.
Author(s): Andrew S. Erickson
Series: Cass Series: Naval Policy and History
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 174
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Contributors
Foreword
Preface: Welcome Spotlight on the Yellow Sea Gray Zone
Notes
Introduction: Understanding Chinese and North Korean Gray Zone Operations in the Yellow Sea
Notes
1. Conceptualizing China's Maritime Gray Zone Operations
Introduction
Why Are Gray Zone Operations Different from Hybrid Warfare?
What Is Hybrid Warfare?
What Is Gunboat Diplomacy?
Why Is Gunboat Diplomacy Different from China's Gray Zone Campaign?
What Is the Nature of China's Maritime Gray Zone Campaign?
What Is Not a Gray Zone Strategy?
Conclusion
Notes
2. Gray Zone Incidents in the Yellow Sea
Introduction
Defining the Gray Zone
The Paracels: A Gray Zone Testing Ground
China Invests in Tools of Gray Zone Coercion: 1980s-90s
Maritime Law Enforcement and the Modern Gray Zone
Yellow Sea Fishing Fleets
Ieodo, ADIZs, and Foreign Military Surveillance: Yellow Sea Gray Zones
Conclusion
Notes
3. China's Coast Guard: Organization, Forces, and Yellow Sea Applications
Introduction
China's Second Sea Force
China Coast Guard Leadership and Organization
Force Construction, Structure, and Key Elements
Shipbuilding
Order of Battle
Future Trends
Gray Zone Operations and Implications
Conclusion
Notes
4. China's Maritime Militia in the Bohai Gulf and Yellow Sea
Introduction
Organizational Methods and Total Force Estimate
Liaoning Provincial Military District
Hebei Provincial Military District and Tianjin Garrison
Shandong Provincial Military District
Jiangsu Provincial Military District
Scenarios for Major Maritime Militia Operations
Conclusion
Notes
5. Casting a Wider Net: The Activities and Evolution of China's Maritime Militia in the Yellow Sea
Introduction
The Maritime Militia in the Yellow Sea
Declaring China's Sovereignty
Collecting Intelligence from the Sea and Sky
Industrial and High-Tech Maritime Militias
Military-Civil Fusion and Militia Building
Roles and Limitations of the New PAFMM
Conclusion
Notes
6. North Korea: Gray Zone Actions in the Yellow Sea
Introduction
North Korea, the Yellow Sea, and Gray Zone Concepts
Origin of the Northern Limit Line
North Korea's Gray Zone Goal
Gray Zone Tool: Korean People's Navy
Contesting the Northern Limit Line
Renouncing the NLL
Abducting Fishing Boats and Crews
First Battle of Yeonpyeong Island
Second Battle of Yeonpyeong Island
Battle of Daecheong
The Deadly Year of 2010
Conclusion
Notes
Index
