‘Record’ Chinese maritime militia deployed in South China Sea in 2025: US report

China’s maritime militia was deployed in “record-high numbers” across the disputed South China Sea in 2025, according to a US think tank report.

However, the report also cited a concentration of civilian fishing fleets near less contested reefs, saying this suggested their waning strategic role for Beijing.

The report was published on Monday by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) – a research programme affiliated with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

It said Chinese maritime militia deployments averaged 241 vessels per day last year, “the highest level measured in any year”. In 2024, the daily average stood at 232 vessels.

The fleets consisted of both professional militia and civilian members of the “Spratly Backbone Fishing Fleet”, a state-subsidised maritime militia consisting of hundreds of large fishing vessels with a near-permanent presence in the South China Sea.