China used to operate several separate maritime law enforcement agencies. These services operated ships as well as their own small aviation units to assist their maritime patrol capabilities. In July 2013, the functions of these services were taken over by the unified

China Coast Guard China Coast Guard (CCG; ) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the People's Armed Police of China. It is currently the world's largest coast guard. Function The CCG is known to perform mostly c ...

(CCG; ).

Former services

Maritime Safety Administration

The

China Maritime Safety Administration The Maritime Safety Administration of the People's Republic of China (CMSA; ) is a government agency which administers all matters related to maritime and shipping safety, including the supervision of maritime traffic safety and security, prevent ...

(China MSA, Chinese: 中国海事局) was a government agency which coordinated maritime search and rescue in the territorial waters of the PRC. The CMSA was part of the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...

. MSA ships were named "Haixun-XX" or "Haibiao-XX", where XX is a number.

Marine Surveillance

The

China Marine Surveillance China Marine Surveillance (CMS; ) was a maritime surveillance agency of China. Patrol vessels from China Marine Surveillance are commonly deployed to locations in the South China Sea and East China Sea where China has territorial disputes over ...

(CMS; Chinese: 中国海监) was created on 19 October 1998 as a paramilitary maritime law enforcement agency under the auspices of China's State Oceanic Administration. It was responsible for law enforcement within China's territorial waters, exclusive economic zones (EEZ), and shores. It was also charged with protecting the maritime environment, natural resources, navigation aids and other facilities, and carried out maritime surveys. In emergencies, it also engaged in

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

missions. According to a 2008 report in ''

China Daily ''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...

'', CMS operated nine aircraft and more than 200 patrol vessels. CMS ships were named "Haijian-XX", where XX is a number.

Fisheries Law Enforcement Command

The

China Fisheries Law Enforcement Command China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(FLEC; ) was an organ of the

Fisheries Management Bureau Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

under the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

. It was responsible for the enforcement of laws concerning fishing and maritime resources in Chinese territorial waters and exclusive economic zones (EEZ). It was charged with protecting Chinese fishing vessels and personnel, resolving disputes in fishing activities, preventing

illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes pl ...

, and protecting maritime resources. FLEC cutters were named "Yuzheng-XX", where XX is a number.

Customs

The PRC's

General Administration of Customs The General Administration of Customs (GAC; ) is a ministry-level administrative agency within the government of the People's Republic of China. It is responsible for the collection of value added tax (VAT), customs duties, excise duties, and o ...

() operated a maritime anti-smuggling force. Its ships were named "Haiguan-XX", where XX is a number.

References

{{Coast guards Coast guards China Coast Guard People's Liberation Army Navy Specialist law enforcement agencies of China