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\u003cp\u003eChina’s decision to station a large and advanced rescue vessel, the \u003cem\u003eNanhaijiu\u003c/em\u003e 115, at Subi Reef marks its latest move to justify its construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea. A maritime rescue capability deployed to the Spratly Islands will ostensibly enhance the safety of the nearby sea lines of communication and thus offer public goods. But the permanent deployment of one of China’s expanding ‘white hull’ agencies in the area is also an indication of its intention to saturate the South China Sea with a Chinese civil-maritime presence, and possibly to consolidate new jurisdictions there.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eExpanding civilian maritime presence\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn 27 July, the Xinhua News Agency announced that the South China Sea Rescue Bureau (NRB)’s \u003cem\u003eNanhaijiu\u003c/em\u003e 115 had departed the port of Sanya on Hainan Island to be stationed on Subi Reef, the biggest of China’s new artificial islands. This is the first time a Chinese civil-professional rescue force has been stationed in the Spratlys. Built in 2010, the 3,510-tonne rescue vessel boasts 9,000-kilowatt engines and is capable of helicopter operations. It will now serve as the vanguard of expanded NRB operations in the islands.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOfficials from the Ministry of Transport’s China Rescue and Salvage Bureau revealed that efforts to strengthen rescue capabilities in the Spratlys will continue, building larger vessels with greater range and strengthening helicopter capabilities there. Importantly, the NRB website notes that to effectively deploy in the Spratlys, vessels such as the \u003cem\u003eNanhaijiu\u003c/em\u003e will be required to execute their duties, which in addition to search and rescue can include ‘special political and military tasks’.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInternational attention on the new artificial islands in the Spratlys has focused overwhelmingly on their military utility and the construction of 3,000-metre-plus runways, large berthing facilities and aircraft hangars. Recently, media reports have also noted the rising number of buildings on the islands as China populates its new real estate there.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSubi Reef, for example, now hosts some 400 buildings. Many of these are indeed garrison facilities, including barrack blocks and headquarters-type buildings. However, the deployment of \u003cem\u003eNanhaijiu\u003c/em\u003e 115 on Subi Reef is an early indication that China intends to build a robust presence of civilian maritime agencies there. The permanent presence of the NRB alongside those of the China Coast Guard, fisheries enforcement, maritime border enforcement, as well as the ‘grey hull’ presence of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, will all require administrative and logistical support – potentially occupying new buildings on islands such as Subi Reef.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe establishment of such facilities in the Spratly Islands would mean a rapid increase in the level of Chinese vessels in the region. As the dual-use of the islands becomes more evident – bolstering China’s assertion of their civilian utility – so does the case for the establishment of both Communist Party and government facilities on the new islands.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eCreating new Chinese jurisdictions\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2012, ‘Sansha City’, the administrative centre for all Chinese-claimed features in the South China Sea, was upgraded from county- to prefecture-level status. Located on Woody Island, host to a burgeoning naval and air presence in the Paracel Islands, China consolidated its grip there with the establishment of prefecture-level party and government headquarters on the island. At present, the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups are classed as ‘water areas’ comprising Sansha Prefecture.\u003c/p\u003e","className":"richtext reading--content font-secondary"}), document.getElementById("react_Svhm4j9Qt06GznoPgUeVZQ"))});
China’s deployment of a powerful rescue ship at Subi Reef suggests that Beijing intends to build a stronger civilian maritime presence in the South China Sea.
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