China accused of entering ‘grey zone’ between war and peace to assert control in disputed waters
- US think tank Rand Corporation says Beijing’s increased assertiveness in East and South China seas falls ‘below the threshold of armed conflict’
- Report says lines between civilian and military are being blurred, citing use of ‘navy reservists’ to crew fishing vessels used to assert control over territory
China is using a number of tactics that fall in the “grey zone between peace and war” to advance its interests in the disputed East and South China seas, according a leading US defence think tank.
In a report analysing China and Russia’s “coercive” actions, the Washington-based Rand Corporation also proposed a number of military and diplomatic measures America could take to counter China in the strategic waters.
Rand, which is partly funded by the US government, said Washington expected its rivalry with China and Russia to be played out “primarily below the threshold of armed conflict, in what is sometimes termed the grey zone between peace and war”.
Examples of the grey zone tactics used by Beijing included the expansion of artificial islands, the use of coastguard vessels and maritime militia and “a group of civilian fishermen who receive military training and coordinate their actions under state and military guidance” to assert control over disputed islands and reefs.
The report said it had stepped up its use of such tactics in recent years against rival claimants such as Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.
In October 2012, seven PLA Navy warships passed through the contiguous zone near Yonaguni Island, a month after Japan nationalised the Senkaku, or Diaoyu, Islands, which are also claimed by China – the first time that Chinese naval vessels had “massed at contested borders”, according to the report.
