"we must protect our blue territory"
2024-09-09
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our reporter xing xiaojing
editor's note: western scholars have compared the south china sea to the "mediterranean sea of asia" to emphasize the importance of the south china sea to asia and the world. huangyan island in the zhongsha islands in the south china sea is china's inherent territory. china discovered huangyan island at least in the yuan dynasty and included it in china's territory and exercised sovereign jurisdiction. for some time, the intervention of foreign forces has complicated the situation in the south china sea. against this background, the importance of the chinese coast guard's regular patrols and guard duty in the waters has become increasingly prominent, and the responsibility it shoulders has become increasingly important.
the hailing ship of the third bureau of the china coast guard just finished its patrol duty in huangyan island at the end of august. many island guards shared their vivid stories in the south china sea in an interview with the global times. these vivid individuals have become the soul of the hailing ship. they said: "when the ship sails into the vast south china sea, standing on the deck, under the clear sky and blue sea, huangyan island, like a blue sea gem, appears in front of us, and the excitement is beyond words. every day, every time i see such a scene, there is always a thought in my heart: this blue territory that belongs to us must be protected and defended!"
coast guards who go out to sea all year round also have to fight seasickness
most of the coast guard ships are named after islands and reefs, and the hailing ship is named after the hailing island in the south china sea. in an interview with the global times, the captain of the hailing ship, lu mengtuan, said that the main responsibilities of the ship include carrying out maritime rights protection and law enforcement operations, responding to infringement and harassment by foreign ships, and asserting sovereignty. in addition, combating illegal and criminal activities such as maritime smuggling and drug trafficking, protecting offshore oil platforms, submarine optical cables, and disposing of marine pollutants are also within the scope of the coast guard's responsibilities.
lu mengtuan said that while guarding the sea borders, the coast guard must also regulate the operation order of fishing boats on site, escort chinese fishing boats and fishermen going out to sea, and maintain the safety and stability of marine fishery production. when chinese fishing boats encounter emergencies or need help, they can call the maritime emergency number 95110. from large-scale leaks and fires on ships to small-scale fishermen suffering from headaches and fevers who need medicine and medical treatment, the chinese coast guard can always provide help in the first time.
in the process of discovering and driving away infringing vessels, it is the principle that all coast guard law enforcement officers should maintain professionalism, restraint, and standardization, and handle problems in accordance with laws and regulations, but it is not easy to really do this. wu jiaxu, a law enforcement officer of the hailing ship, told reporters: "sometimes foreign infringing vessels deliberately provoke trouble, and even take dangerous actions such as cutting into the bow and maliciously colliding. it's like a bad guy "making trouble" in front of your own door, and you feel very angry. there are many young men in their twenties on the ship, who are young and energetic and want to go up and "fight hard", but we won't do that."
"wearing law enforcement uniforms, we represent the chinese coast guard. everyone has emotions, but we must never let them cloud our minds," said wu jiaxu. "we always remind ourselves to stay calm. when we encounter infringing foreign ships, we strictly follow relevant regulations and drive them away by warning them through radio calls." however, there is a boxing sandbag on the hailing ship, and law enforcement officers sometimes mistake the sandbag for an infringing foreign ship and punch it a few times.
in the intense work, the coast guards also need to fight seasickness. the outside world may be puzzled, how can the coast guards who go to sea all year round get seasick? lu mengtuan said that everyone's physique is different, and the coast guards are also "flesh and blood". most people's bodies have been relatively adapted to life at sea, but seasickness is inevitable when encountering bad weather such as typhoons and tidal surges. huge waves as high as several meters kept hitting the glass of the cockpit, and the ship rolled more than 30 degrees. the items on the table fell to the ground with a crackling sound, and walking was like "space walking". even if they were lying in bed without moving, they had to get up from time to time to vomit.
"it is touching that the law enforcement officers on the ship have never delayed their work due to seasickness," said lu mengtuan. "some hold sour plums and tangerine peels in their mouths to relieve the symptoms, and some carry plastic bags in their pockets to vomit when they can't help it... no matter how hard or difficult it is, they stick to their respective jobs, which is also a spirit of our coast guard."
"employ a police officer for a thousand days and use him for a thousand days"
"as the old saying goes, 'you need to train your troops for a thousand days and deploy them only once', but for the chinese coast guard, it is 'you need to train your troops for a thousand days and deploy them only a thousand days'," lu mengtuan told the global times. "in fact, no textbook can predict all possible situations that may be encountered at sea, let alone provide completely applicable solutions. what we can do is to try our best to hone our law enforcement skills, improve our professional level and be fully prepared."
in maritime law enforcement, whether it is boarding inspections, investigations and evidence collection, or personnel transfers and material transfers, small and flexible law enforcement boats play an important role. the boat driver li fawen is usually not good at speaking, but when he drives the boat to complete the tasks excellently time and time again, the heroic spirit he shows has earned him the nickname "liu xiang of the sea".
"the dashboard, steering wheel and joystick are my weapons. the small driving position can unleash tremendous energy," li fawen told the global times. "driving a boat seems easy when the sea is calm, but i dare not slack off. the sun shines on the sea, and the waves are sparkling. i have no time to appreciate the beautiful scenery. i must always concentrate on controlling the speed and direction accurately. the real test is when a storm comes. i have to constantly adjust the direction, fight against the strong winds and waves with skilled techniques and tenacious will, and let the boat move forward bravely like hurdles in the stormy waves."
"looking at the compass, observing the stars, identifying the ocean currents, and fighting the storms" were essential skills for ancient fishermen to go out to sea. ji jiajun, who ensures the safety of ships' navigation, told the global times that although navigation instruments such as the electric compass, magnetic compass, and sextant have been widely used in modern society, a qualified coast guard must "know astronomy and geography." ji jiajun introduced some basic meteorological laws to reporters. taking the south china sea as an example, the southwest wind usually blows from may to august each year, and the surges are usually northeast currents; the northeast wind blows from october to april of the following year, and the surges also turn into southwest currents. "white-headed waves" on the sea surface are a sign of bad sea conditions.
ji jiajun added that during the patrol and duty period, the ship will also organize collective learning for law enforcement officers, discuss and study relevant cases, simulate on-site boarding law enforcement procedures, and organize a knowledge competition on the "coast guard law" and the "coast guard administrative law enforcement procedures" to improve the professional capabilities of law enforcement officers through various means.
law enforcement officers born after 2000: coast guard work is different from what is shown in police and gangster movies
it is worth mentioning that more and more "post-00s" have joined the coast guard, adding a beautiful landscape. han dehua, a 24-year-old young man from dalian, grew up by the sea and has a deep affection for the sea. after graduating from university, he became a coast guard law enforcement officer and is now responsible for radar operation on the hailing ship. han dehua said in an interview with the global times that radar is like the "eyes" of a ship, which can monitor the movement trajectory of the ship in real time, ensure navigation safety, and play a role in maritime navigation.
"at first, i was not used to the work of the coast guard, mainly because it was different from what i imagined." han dehua said frankly, "when i was a child, i saw police officers catching bad guys in a hail of bullets in police and gangster movies. i thought that as maritime police, the coast guard must be very handsome when performing their duties. although you may encounter similar scenes in movies in maritime anti-smuggling cases, the positions and responsibilities are different. there is not so much fighting and killing in my job."
"later, i figured it out. in peacetime, doing your job well and persisting in ordinary things can create something extraordinary," said han dehua. "now, in addition to daily radar operations, i also actively repair ships with my colleagues, making sure not a single screw comes loose, always keeping the equipment at its best performance and myself in the best condition. this is how we, the post-00s, defend our country, and it is also our deep love confession to our motherland."
chen shihan, also 24 years old, nicknamed "aman", comes from a small fishing village in hainan. aman told the global times reporter that the villagers have been fishing for generations. in the past, many people died in the sea. their relatives made a straw man, soaked it in the smell of sea water, and buried it as a living corpse. the scene of separation between life and death is heartbreaking. for this reason, the coast guard who protects the lives and property of fishermen is one of the most respected professions by local people. after graduating from university, aman finally realized his "coast guard dream".
after training, ah man is now a member of the hailing ship's cooking team, responsible for four meals a day for all the people on board from morning to night. "in fact, i felt a little inferior at the beginning," ah man said to the reporter embarrassedly, "although we are all coast guards, at first i always felt that i was just a cook and didn't have the prestige of a law enforcement officer."
after lu mengtuan noticed this, he took the initiative to talk to ah man and told him that the whole ship is a whole, everyone has their own division of labor, and every position is indispensable. there is no so-called high or low, or prestige or not. ah man's cooking skills are beyond reproach. rice noodle rolls, roast goose, dandan noodles... as long as you want to eat, there is nothing he can't do, and he has won unanimous praise from everyone. the captain's encouragement and the recognition of his colleagues resolved ah man's initial "little entanglement". "i heard that i was a marine police officer on duty at huangyan island. everyone in the village is proud of me. now i am the pride of the whole village!" ah man said with a smile.
take a photo with the south china sea from all angles with your family
in 365 days a year, the hailing ship sails in every corner of the south china sea for more than 200 days at most. when night falls, the family far away is always the deepest concern of the coast guard. during this round of patrol duty in huangyan island, the wives of several law enforcement officers were pregnant. they were waiting for the birth of their babies alone with their pregnant bellies, and they comforted the guilty men in return: "concentrate on doing your work well, and don't worry about the family."
han dehua told the global times that his parents always reported good news but not bad news every time they called him in order not to worry him. until one day, his mother accidentally mentioned that whenever she saw ships encountering strong winds and waves on the internet, her heart was in her throat and she couldn't sleep all night, worrying about his safety but not daring to tell him. han dehua told his mother that ships have scientific methods to avoid typhoons and waves and will not "fight head-on" with nature, so that his mother could rest assured.
there are many such photos stored in the mobile phone of zheng jingfu, a law enforcement officer of the power support system: he carries a family photo with him to take photos of the south china sea from various angles. some are taken on the deck, some through the porthole, sometimes at sunrise, sometimes at sunset, sometimes in the rain, sometimes under a clear sky... "in this way, i can feel that my family is by my side." zheng jingfu told the global times reporter, "only by protecting the motherland can we protect our family. when i am in this blue sea, i have only one thought in my mind: protect! protect it!"
in order to ease the homesickness of the law enforcement officers, a series of activities were carried out on the hailing ship. the deck is a "natural square" and is very lively at night. han dehua, who has eight abdominal muscles, is the "fitness coach" on the ship. he trains himself and trains others. dumbbells and barbells are used in turn, and all members of the ship "sculpt muscles" together. wu jiaxu, who is usually serious, is the "exercise leader" on the ship. when the music sounds, aerobics starts, and vigorous vitality rushes to the face. ah man likes to "challenge the treadmill". it is said that he can run for several hours at the maximum speed limit of the treadmill without stopping. in order to prevent the treadmill from "shortening his life", he has to let the treadmill rest for 10 minutes after every hour of running.
"voice of hailing" was also officially launched during this voyage. this is a radio program broadcast before dinner. everyone can freely contribute, write poems, essays, share heartwarming stories, exchange experiences, and introduce hometown food and scenery...
ji jiajun is reading a book about tibet recently, and he has a wish: to go to tibet! he told the global times reporter that there is a large map of china hanging on the hailing ship, and in their spare time, everyone will gather around the map to discuss the places they have been to. many coast guards have a wish: they have been guarding the blue territory for many years, and they hope to climb mountains, walk along the border, appreciate the beautiful mountains and rivers of the motherland, and measure every inch of the motherland with their feet.
the ocean dream reflects the chinese dream. the sun, the moon, the stars, the blue territory, after a short rest, the hailing ship will set sail again with the lovely chinese coast guards in the story and continue to protect this sea together. ▲#deep good articles project#
