Archive · 31 Jan 2026
China Intensifies Patrols in Disputed Waters
China's Coast Guard has been very busy around some islands and shoals that both China and other countries claim as their own.
These places are called the Senkaku Islands by Japan and the Diaoyu Islands by China, and the Scarborough Shoal by the Philippines.
Over the past five years, they organized 134 patrols and used a lot of ships and planes.
In 2025, they patrolled the islands for 357 days, which is almost every day of the year.
They do this to show that they believe these places belong to China.
In January 2024, China also conducted naval and air patrols around the Scarborough Shoal to counter joint exercises by the Philippines and the United States.
China's Coast Guard organized 134 patrols around the disputed Senkaku Islands in the past five years.
550,000 vessels and 6,000 aircraft were deployed during these patrols.
In 2025, patrols were conducted for 357 days out of the year.
China conducted naval and air patrols around the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in January 2024.
The patrols are part of China's efforts to assert its territorial claims and counter joint exercises by the Philippines and the United States.
- Who
- China's Coast Guard and Southern Theater Command
- What
- Organized patrols and deployed vessels and aircraft
- When
- Past five years, 357 days in 2025, January 2024
- Where
- Disputed Senkaku Islands (East China Sea) and Scarborough Shoal (South China Sea)
- Why
- To assert territorial claims and counter joint exercises by the Philippines and the United States
- Patrols Organized
- 134
- Vessels Deployed
- 550,000
- Aircraft Deployed
- 6,000
- Patrol Days in 2025
- 357
- Disputed Islands
- Senkaku (Diaoyu) and Scarborough Shoal