Listen to the Chinese Coast Guard talk about how to guard Huangyan Island: We can't lose our ancestors' maritime defense.
2024-08-12
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Our reporter Lin Xiaoyi
There is a group of people who patrol and guard the South China Sea all year round, and implement the protection of the motherland's sea borders and the protection of national sovereignty, security and maritime rights and interests in accordance with the law in every surveillance, every interception, every inspection, and every rescue and law enforcement action - they are the Chinese Coast Guard. The South China Sea islands and reefs that are far away in the eyes of ordinary people are the coastal defense of the motherland, their jobs, and their "spiritual homeland" for them.
Far away from the land, the marine police officers need to withstand the wind and waves, the heat, and the loneliness in the high temperature, high humidity, and high sunshine working environment at sea. The blue land of the South China Sea is of great importance to them. The marine police officers combine their love for the motherland, their responsibility for their work, and the expectations of their relatives and friends into a sincere emotion and unstoppable force, projecting it onto the endless "ancestral sea" they are guarding, finding joy in hardship and looking down on the storm.
Recently, a reporter from the Global Times interviewed the law enforcement officers of the Wanshan ship formation of the China Coast Guard's Third Bureau, who had completed their patrol and guard mission at the Huangyan Island in late July. The reporter listened to the island guards talk about the ups and downs of their patrol and law enforcement in the South China Sea.
Protecting the sea and being a "reassuring presence" in the South China Sea
"We must keep an eye on this sea. We must not lose sight of our ancestors' tradition of defending the sea." This saying is widely circulated among Chinese coast guard law enforcement officers and is also remembered by Wanshan ship captain Yin Gang.
From the time the Wanshan ship cast off to the time it finished its duty and returned to its home port, Yin Gang constantly emphasized to the coast guard law enforcement officers their mission and responsibility in going deep into the blue sea during the assembly and training. Yin Gang told the Global Times reporter: "Our main task is to arrive at the mission area on time, deploy, and guard, to detect and drive away infringing ships entering my country's jurisdictional waters as soon as possible, and to safeguard national sovereignty, security and maritime rights and interests."
Huangyan Island is part of China's Zhongsha Islands and is China's inherent territory. China has been exercising sovereignty and jurisdiction over Huangyan Island continuously, peacefully and effectively. Every Coast Guard law enforcement officer on the Wanshan ship deeply understands the great significance of guarding Huangyan Island in safeguarding my country's maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.
Yin Gang introduced that the various duty stations of the Wanshan ship have established a 24-hour rotation duty system in repeated missions, so as to understand the situation of the guarded sea area in real time and ensure that forces can be arranged to respond immediately once special situations are discovered.
As a law enforcement boat driver, Gao Xin is one of the people closest to various emergency scenes in the Huangyan Island waters and the closest to fishermen and other foreign ships in the Huangyan Island waters. Gao Xin said: "When the alarm rings and we hear the broadcast of 'deployment of the boat', we will quickly put on life jackets, prepare various equipment and go to the rear deck to prepare for the mission."
Whether it is cracking down on various illegal activities such as smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal fishing, or driving away foreign ships that intrude into Huangyan Island, Gao Xin completes every boat mission seriously and conscientiously - while ensuring the safety of personnel, law enforcement personnel are sent to the target ship as quickly and accurately as possible to board and control it, and conduct law enforcement inspections.
Chasing illegal vessels in wind and waves on a thin law enforcement boat and facing the unpredictable actions of different law enforcement targets are the norm for the Chinese Coast Guard when enforcing the law. Gao Xin said: "We have been carefully scrutinizing in training, exercises and assessments, mastering every detail of the law enforcement process, and formulating detailed plans to deal with various emergencies."
Qiu Canhui, who is in charge of law enforcement and evidence collection, is also a witness to the professionalization and standardization of the rights protection and law enforcement work of the Chinese Coast Guard. Holding a camera and wearing a law enforcement recorder on his chest, effectively recording the entire process of rights protection and law enforcement is his focus on the Wanshan ship.
Qiu Canhui stressed that "unlike some foreign politicians and media who have slandered the Chinese Coast Guard for being 'tough' and 'brutal' in enforcing the law on the South China Sea issue, we have sufficient and complete evidence to prove that the Chinese Coast Guard has always responded in accordance with the law."
"Some countries claim that China is 'bullying the weak' in the South China Sea, but the fact is that the 'strong' with power are professional, calm and restrained, while the so-called 'weak' are aggressive and frequently 'adding drama' to cause trouble. We will never tolerate such behavior," Gao Xin said. "But we also hope to prove with our own actions that the Chinese Coast Guard is a reassuring presence in the South China Sea."
Gao Xin was born in a fisherman's family in Weihai, Shandong. His father has been a fisherman all his life. Gao Xin said: "I understand the difficulties of fishermen. What makes me proud is that every time I drive the law enforcement boat and take the law enforcement officers to visit the fishing boats, the fishermen always smile when they see us."
This year marks the 5th anniversary of the opening of the China Coast Guard Maritime Alarm Service Platform. "If there is an emergency at sea, call 95110" is a phrase that is also passed on by word of mouth among fishermen in the South China Sea. Since the opening of the 95110 hotline, the China Coast Guard has effectively handled more than 68,000 police incidents and implemented more than 6,900 rescue operations, playing an important role in serving the people and maintaining maritime security and stability.
"The effective operation of a ship requires a group of courageous and capable people to share the ups and downs."
On the sea, Yin Gang used his spare time to finish reading the popular book "The Three-Body Problem" borrowed from the library of the Third Bureau. His deepest impression after reading it was that humans are very small in front of the universe. Yin Gang said: "I can empathize with this feeling more on the ship, because compared with the sea, no matter how big the ship is, it is just a small boat."
Sailing is full of dangers. More often than not, the Chinese Coast Guard needs to face challenges and deal with risks. In Yin Gang's view, a qualified Chinese Coast Guard needs to have excellent personal physical fitness, a willingness to endure hardships, and efficient coordination and cooperation; and the effective operation of a ship requires a group of courageous and capable people to share the ups and downs of the sea.
For example, the electromechanical department of the engine room carefully maintains nearly 2/3 of the mechanical equipment on the ship to ensure the supply of oil, water, electricity and gas. A "vitality patrol sign" is hung in the engine room control room of the Wanshan ship - during the 24-hour patrol, the duty officer needs to climb up and down with a flashlight and a walkie-talkie to check the operating status of each device.
Every time the cabin door is opened, noise and heat waves hit you. In this confined space, the machines continue to roar, and the heat dissipation of the equipment keeps the temperature above 40 degrees Celsius.
Zhang Kaihua, chief engineer and electrical officer of the Wanshan ship, told the Global Times: "In such a high-noise and high-temperature environment, the duty officers need to amplify their senses to hear, smell, touch and see."
The electromechanical department does not directly engage in frontline law enforcement, but quietly deals with oil, water, and machinery in the engine room. Many people suffer from occupational diseases such as hearing loss and circadian rhythm disorders after working for a long time. However, in Zhang Kaihua's view, sailing is no small matter, and the engine room, as the "heart" of a ship, cannot have any problems: "We are the most solid 'rear defense' of the Wanshan ship. No matter how hard or tired we are, we must ensure that the 'heart' of the Wanshan ship beats vigorously."
The pots and pans of the kitchen team soothe the "homesickness" of people from all over the world
As a logistics department, the kitchen team also has its own unique ups and downs. The kitchen team consists of several people and needs to provide four meals a day for the law enforcement officers on the ship, from breakfast to supper. July is the typhoon season in the South China Sea. With the wind and waves, it is not easy to fulfill the coast guard law enforcement officers' desire for food on the ship.
In the rough sea, the ship was tossing from side to side, and the cooks walked on the slippery floor of the kitchen as if their feet were greased, which made it very inconvenient to move and operate. Sometimes a big wave came and the food being processed was thrown out of the pot. Even in bad weather, the cooks still stayed at the stove, replacing the daily "five dishes and one soup" with a simple but thoughtful pot of mutton noodle soup, and continued to make everyone full and well fed.
In the middle and late stages of the voyage, Tang Yiming, the squad leader of the Wanshan ship's cooking squad, would have a slight "anxiety about the inventory of food reserves in the cold storage": "We have a long duty cycle, and fresh green leafy vegetables can only be stored for one or two weeks. After that, we can only eat vegetables such as onions, potatoes, winter melons, and pumpkins that are durable in storage. Meat is not as fresh after being refrigerated for a long time, and can only be flavored with seasonings."
Every day at sea, the cooks carefully observe how much people like each dish, and "make more of the best-selling dish." Back on land, their focus becomes researching new and trendy dishes on social networks, "trying to make everyone's diet less boring when they are at sea."
Before each voyage, the coast guard law enforcement officers would bring some local specialties to the ship, and the kitchen was filled with "homesickness" from all corners of the world. Since they could not take the initiative to contact their families on the ship, Tang Yiming used pots and pans to soothe everyone's "homesickness". He said: "There is no mobile phone signal on the ship, and we can only contact our families occasionally using satellite phones. When we hear the voices of our families on the phone, we may not be able to hold on and want to go home, and we are also afraid of receiving bad news."
Standing on the vast ocean thousands of kilometers away, the free family telephones set up on the ship always trigger the coast guard law enforcement officers' surging thoughts. As for the big and small things at home, they often feel powerless due to the long distance.
Fortunately, the Third Bureau directly under the China Coast Guard has set up a special "3580" hotline, which can answer calls from coast guard families seeking help at any time, help the families of law enforcement officers on duty at sea and reduce their worries.
With solid support on land, Tang Yiming's role model is a cook in his unit who fought drug dealers at sea in a force 8 gale last year: "We are in the logistics department. Although everyone has different work priorities, we always maintain our own 'combat' awareness. As long as the organization needs us, we are ready to rush to the front line at any time."
"We all feel honored and proud to wear the Chinese Coast Guard uniform"
On the Wanshan ship, many coast guard law enforcement officers have taken photos of themselves wearing uniforms and taking photos with the waters of Huangyan Island.
At sea, whenever the weather is fine and the sky is full of colorful clouds in the evening, Qiu Canhui will be a busy man on the deck. He points his camera lens at the coast guard law enforcement officers who accompany him day and night, and takes various heroic "life photos" for them, and then prints and laminates them as small gifts for them. Qiu Canhui said: "Everyone in the photo is smiling happily and contentedly, because everyone feels honored and proud to wear the Chinese Coast Guard uniform."
For Tang Yiming, the most unforgettable moments of each duty mission are the arrival and departure from Huangyan Island. Tang Yiming said: "Whenever the Wanshan ship arrives at Huangyan Island, I feel like I have another home, a home for the whole group. Because it is familiar, I feel at ease. When the next batch of ships on duty take over and we leave Huangyan Island, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because it means that the mission has been successfully completed and we can return to our own home with our backs straightened."
In this "home" of Huangyan Island, Qiu Canhui and Tang Yiming, as the cultural backbone of the Wanshan ship, also work closely together. During traditional festivals such as the Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival, they strive to match various delicacies with the special performances of the law enforcement officers. When they are in high spirits, everyone always sings "Sailor" and the favorite song of the coast guard law enforcement officers - "The Motherland Has Given Me a Sea".
When they finish their duty and return home, the coast guards will show their families the magnificent scenery of the Huangyan Island waters. The photos include layers of stacked waves, flying seabirds, playful fish, colorful sunrises and sunsets, and their sunny and confident smiles as sea guards.
Talking about his family and work, Yin Gang's eyes were full of smiles: "My family members will talk to me more frequently about the news about the South China Sea and the Chinese Coast Guard that they saw in the news." Yin Gang feels very gratified. With the Chinese Coast Guard ships sailing across the vast seas of the motherland, ordinary people's understanding of the South China Sea has also become more profound. "More and more people know that China has such a beautiful and rich sea area."
Yin Gang is also full of hope for the future: "More people have taken action to make the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation. The sea area we defend will be cleaner and more peaceful."
At this time, the Wanshan ship, which has returned to its home port, is quietly docked at the Pearl River Waterway Wharf under the night sky, ready to sail again. ▲#Deep Good Articles Project#
