According to AIS data, the research vessel Zhong Shan Da Xue sailed through the South China Sea from May to June 2025. However, Sun Yat-sen University declared that the vessel was active in the South China Sea in August 2025, which contradicts the AIS data. The announcement stated that Sun Yat-sen University had conducted sea-trials of Haiqin, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) capable of operating at depths of up to 6,000 meters, and that Zhong Shan Da Xue had deployed the Haidou-1 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) at the same time. This marked the first scientific survey conducted by coordinating two different unmanned vehicles via a single support ship¹⁴.

Communist Party Oath on a PAF-MM Ship: “我志愿加入中国共产党，调护觉的纲领，遵守党的章理，履行美员火分。执行党的决定，严守党的经售，影9金 的秘密，对觉出说，现败工作为去产主火奋斗終身，随财准過方党和人民間性一切，永不频算，

“China prefers ‘invisible hybrid warfare’ (隐形混合战) over kinetic warfare.  Covert irregular warfare enables China the means to quietly overwhelm its targets not only physically but economically and politically as well – all without firing a shot.  The use of civilian fishing vessels not only provide plausible deniability but legitimizes China’s claims and salami-slicing tactics as lawful and just.”

For over a decade, the Chinese Communist Party has deployed “fishing fleets” and coast guard vessels as tools of coercion, blurring the line between civilian and military activity to expand its control across the Indo-Pacific. In the East China Sea, more than 600 Chinese vessels formed coordinated lines for hours at a time. In the Yellow Sea, China installed large aquaculture cages and a network of surveillance buoys in contested waters with South Korea. And in the South China Sea, China has surged coast guard patrols around Scarborough Shoal while constructing new artificial outposts at reefs near Vietnam complete with jetties, helipads, and potential runways. This is not routine commerce, it's gray zone warfare designed to intimidate U.S. allies, restrict access to international waters, and normalize China’s unlawful territorial claims. The U.S. and its partners must respond with urgency, strengthening maritime domain awareness, supporting frontline allies, and defending freedom of navigation.