In the previous article, the author talked to you about a series of stories about the development and construction of our country's navy, such as Type 055 destroyers, 093 series nuclear submarines, and so on. Today, we talk about the development of our coast guard force. In the 10 years from 2013 to 2023, China's coast guard force has grown rapidly, and in the process, 38 ships of the navy and 1 ship of the army have been handed over to the coast guard force one after another. So, what is the strategic layout?Today, we're going to talk about that.
First, let's talk about the overall development of our coast guard force. Before 2013, there was no standardized and professional maritime law enforcement and governance in China, and there were several departments such as fishery administration, maritime supervision, and maritime guard, which were not subordinate to each other. As we all know, in September 2012, China and Japan launched a fierce contest and game over the Diaoyu Islands issue. In the face of an unprecedented critical situation, China dispatched four maritime surveillance ships headed by the 1,690-ton "Haijian 51" to form a formation and forcefully enter the waters near the Diaoyu Islands to cruise.
At that time, among several maritime law enforcement forces under different subordinates in China, there were problems such as insufficient number and tonnage of warships, and the low degree of modernization of warships. The Diaoyu Islands game in 2012 was a great stimulus to China. Japan's Coast Guard ships have many advantages, such as number, tonnage, and level of modernization. Japan even has a 6,000-ton security agency ship, which is not only large in tonnage, but also capable of carrying ***
In order to unify several maritime law enforcement forces, it is necessary to form a strong maritime law enforcement force. In July 2013, China established the China Coast Guard, which ended the previous situation of "five dragons ruling the sea" in terms of structure. However, in the early stages of the establishment of the coast guard force, there was a situation in which the state of ships was not good, and the number of large and medium-sized ships was extremely short.
In such an environment, out of practical needs, various ships of China's army and navy began to be handed over to the coast guard for use, and became coast guard ships under the jurisdiction of the coast guard force. Not only the navy, but in fact, our army also has a certain number of ships under its jurisdiction. China's Army Type 701 comprehensive support ship, one of which - GY820 comprehensive support ship, with a full load displacement of more than 2,700 tons, was commissioned in 2015 and delivered to the army.
In 2022 or early 2023, the coast guard force has been delivered, painted with the white livery of the coast guard, and the port number is coast guard 18602. Please note that this kind of ship has a bow landing springboard to support small-scale amphibious landings, which shows that the coast guard force also pays great attention to island and reef landing or marine support capabilities during the construction process.
Of course, the number of land ** boats is limited, and the navy is still needed at critical moments. The 38 ships of the Chinese Navy have been handed over to the coast guard one after another. Among them, in the early days of the establishment of the coast guard, two Type 053H and four Type 053H2G frigates of the Navy were successively delivered to the coast guard. The Navy's ocean-going survey ship 871 Li Siguang, with a full displacement of 5,872 tons, was incorporated into the fishery administration in December 2012. In 2023, it will be transferred to the coast guard sequence, and it is currently the coast guard 2506 ship.
The Navy's 852 Qixing ocean-going electronic reconnaissance ship, with a full load displacement of 4,590 tons, was handed over to the Coast Guard sequence, and is currently the Haijing 3469 ship. The Navy's Dongyou No. 621 offshore oil tanker, with a full load displacement of more than 4,900 tons, was handed over to the Navy and is currently the Haijing 3412 ship. The Navy's three 4,000-ton Type 072 amphibious landing ships have been delivered to the Coast Guard one after another. After improvement and perfection, it has become the coast guard tugboat 25 ships, police doctor 01 ship, and special transport ship 929 ships.
The Navy's No. 723 icebreaker and No. 721 icebreaker, with a full load displacement of more than 4,400 tons, have been successively handed over to the coast guard sequence, and are currently the 1411 Haijing ship and the 13 Haijing tow ships. The Navy's 2,600-horsepower ocean rescue tugboat, with a full load displacement of more than 1,600 tons, is currently a coast guard tugboat with 32 vessels. The Navy's Type 922 large military comprehensive rescue ship No. 503 has been sequenced by the Coast Guard and is currently the 3411 ship of the Coast Guard.
The above-mentioned ships were basically handed over one after another in the early days of the establishment of the coast guard. Since 2021, the Navy's 22 Type 056 frigates have been handed over to the Coast Guard, which is of great significance. After the 22 Type 056 frigates were handed over to the coast guard, the standard equipment of the navy, such as anti-ship missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, and anti-submarine torpedoes, was dismantled. However, the 76 mm naval guns in the bow and the 30 mm guns on both sides were retained, and they had very strong artillery firepower. As a coast guard ship, in the event of a hand-to-hand encounter, relying on 76 mm naval guns can quickly gain an advantage in firepower.
The 22 Type 056 frigates belong to the early models of the entire 056 series of frigates, which have basically been in service for less than 10 years, and are still relatively cutting-edge ships, not converted from retired ships. The design concept, facilities, equipment and style of the ship are all 21st century standards, and all aspects are not lagging behind. At present, the 056 series frigates currently in service in the naval forces, mainly Type 056A, have further strengthened their anti-submarine capabilities.
The tonnage of the 056 series frigates, although only about 1300 to 1500 tons. Against the 300,400-ton coast guard patrol boats of the countries surrounding the South China Sea, the Type 056 coast guard vessels have taken advantage of their overwhelming tonnage advantage. For example, most of the main coast guard ships in the South China Sea are basically coast guard patrol boats of several hundred tons.
As of 2022, China's coast guard force has a total of 2 12,000-ton coast guard ships and more than 70 coast guard ships of more than 3,000 tons. If other types of coast guard ships are added, China has a total of more than 1,000 coast guard ships of more than 1,000 tons, reaching more than 150, which can be called the first in the world. Among them, 6 Type 818 coast guard ships and 9 Type 718B coast guard ships have been delivered successively.
Compared with China, Japan has a total of 69 coast guard ships of more than 1,000 tons (12 coast guard ships of more than 3,000 tons), and South Korea has 35 coast guard ships of more than 1,000 tons. As for the Philippines, even counting the 100-ton coast guard ships, all the large and small coast guard ships combined, there are only more than 30 in total.
There are many more stories about the construction and development of China's coast guard force. The author will talk to you slowly in future articles.