Chinese coastguard reveals growing reliance on drones at Scarborough Shoal

Lunar New Year post gives rare look at the role of uncrewed aircraft in training and operations near disputed South China Sea reef

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Qiu Canhui operates a drone aboard the Chinese coastguard vessel Wanshan near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on February 11. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 9:15pm, 18 Feb 2026

A Lunar New Year post from the Chinese coastguard on Wednesday provided a rare glimpse at how aerial drones have become essential to daily training and operations near a hotly contested South China Sea reef.

The social media post was meant to show officers on the coastguard vessel Wanshan, or China Coast Guard 3301, guarding the disputed Scarborough Shoal, known as Huangyan Island in China, during the Lunar New Year holiday.

But the details of their daily training revealed how aerial drones and helicopters play a crucial role in Chinese coastguard operations in the disputed South China Sea.

The post featured Qiu Canhui, a Chinese coastguard drone operator and videographer aboard the Wanshan. He described how he used his rest time to study video footage to learn how to minimise interference from wind, waves and ships and keep drones relatively steady when filming stand-offs between the coastguard and vessels from other countries.

It described how he once stood on the ship’s deck for five hours to film an incident in which a foreign vessel tried to enter waters claimed by China. Qiu had to endure hours of intense sunlight and steady himself as his own ship manoeuvred and the foreign vessel constantly changed position.

It also described how a new officer used his free time to learn from senior officers about how to perform drone and helicopter landing and take-off operations.

An experienced officer said he had been instructing new officers on these drone operation skills in hopes they could one day pass vocational tests.

Chinese coastguard reveals growing reliance on drones at Scarborough Shoal

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Lunar New Year post gives rare look at the role of uncrewed aircraft in training and operations near disputed South China Sea reef

Lunar New Year post gives rare look at the role of uncrewed aircraft in training and operations near disputed South China Sea reef