China's largest fishing administration ship, the No. 311 Fishing Administration Ship, left Guangzhou for the South China Sea on the morning of March 10 to execute the task of fishing administration.

The ship, converted from a retired Chinese Navy warship, will mainly shoulder the task of protecting the fishing industry and fishing ships around China's Nansha and Xisha Islands. It will also demonstrate China's sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea.

It has a total tonnage of 4,450 tons and a maximum speed of 20 knots. It has the largest capacity tonnage and is the fastest in China's fishing industry administration system.

From now on, the ship will mainly carry out tasks such as cruising administration in exclusive economic zones, protection of the fishing industry and fishing ships around the Xisha, Nansha, and Zhongsha Islands, joint supervision and administration in the Beibu Bay, as well as rescue for fishing-related emergencies.

In recent years, on multiple occasions while Chinese fishing administration ships were executing tasks in some territories of disputed sovereignty in the South China Sea, they were threatened by foreign warships. Chinese fishermen have also been repeatedly and illegally detained.

Worse still, some peripheral countries have also attempted to take over Chinese islands in the South China Sea through various means.

In mid-February, the Congress of the Philippines passed the "2009 Baseline Bill," which states that China's Huangyan Island and some of the Nansha Islands territories are part of the Philippines.

On March 5, Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi, Malaysia's Prime Minister and Defense Minister, landed on the Swallow Reef and Ardasier Reef of China's Nansha Islands to claim Malaysia's sovereignty there. His actions were met by the Chinese government's protests.

Liu Tianrong, Deputy Inspector of the Administration for Fishing Affairs and Fishing Ports on South China Sea under the Ministry of Agriculture, told reporters from the Global Times that China has continuously declared its sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea. This had been done through fishermen's fishing work and the fishing administration ships' protection operations of fishery resources and fishing ships.

The launch of China's No. 311 Fishing Administration Ship not only indicates China's increasing power in fishing administration, but also underlies China's determination in strengthening fishing administration.

Wu Zhuang, Director-General of the Administration for Fishing Affairs and Fishing Ports on South China Sea under the Ministry of Agriculture, told reporters from the Global Times that the administration plans to greatly expand its number of ships in the next three to five years so as to better safeguard China's sovereignty in the South China Sea and protect the nation's marine rights and interests.

In addition, a new fishing administration ship with a total tonnage of around 2,500 tons that can carry helicopters is being built. This will be China's first fishing administration ship in the South China Sea to allow helicopters to take off and land. It is expected to be completed by 2010.

By People's Daily Online