U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission - China Bulletin: February 4, 2026
New Gray Zone Threat: China Marshals Thousands of Fishing Vessels in Coordinated Drills to Impede Movement in the East China Sea
Thousands of Chinese fishing boats formed a line hundreds of miles long in a novel operation revealing a potential tactic for a future blockade or invasion of Taiwan.
Analysis of AIS data revealed large mobilizations of Chinese civilian fishing vessels in the East China Sea, one on Christmas Day involving 2,000 vessels, followed by another on January 11 with 1,400 vessels.[43] While fishing boats have long been part of China’s gray zone toolkit, this mobilization was of unprecedented scale, with the formations stretching for around 200–290 miles.[44] See this link for a fascinating interactive graphic from the New York Times.
The mobilizations bracketed China’s December 29–30 Justice Mission 2025 military drills around Taiwan, which practiced encirclement, blockading, and obstructing transit.[45] While there was no Chinese reporting directly connecting the fishing vessel mobilizations to the Taiwan exercises, the timing suggests China may be practicing mass mobilization of civilian vessels for use during a Taiwan contingency, where they could complicate U.S. military operations by overwhelming radars and sensors, confounding targeting for missiles and torpedoes, and complicating navigation.[46]
The apparent coordination of civilian vessel mobilization with the recent military drills suggests the maritime militia may begin to play a greater role in gray zone pressure against Taiwan than it has to date.[47] The province of Fujian across the Taiwan Strait has prioritized strengthening its maritime militia, most recently with measures to increase monetary and other benefits for participating in militia work.[48] Civilian vessels are also likely to play a role in enhancing China’s sealift capacity in the event of an invasion of Taiwan, and they could be called upon for missions like reconnaissance, search and rescue, and mine laying in addition to participating in a blockade enforcement.[49]