In 2021, on the fishing boats of Jiangsu fishermen, they stared at the "treasures" they caught.
It's not a fish you usually catch, but a metal device with long "wings" that looks high-tech at first glance.
They have already seen all kinds of propaganda, this thing is valuable, it is very likely to be used to spy on the secrets of the mainland, "bring it back and report it to the maritime department!" ”
Sure enough, the expert frowned when he saw it, "This is a secret theft device!" ”
However, before everyone could digest this information, the United States and Japan jumped out and said, "Give it back to us!" ”
The sources of information in this article have been repeated at the end of the article, and in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, and are for reference only
The morning light was slightly dew, and Lao Wang and his fishing boat companions had been busy in this sea area all night.
As an experienced fisherman, Lao Wang knows the waters well, but today's harvest surprised him.
When the fishing net was slowly pulled up, Lao Wang found that in addition to the common fish, there was also a strange object with a metallic sheen in the net.
The device is about 3 meters long and has a smooth surface filled with various precision sensors and even solar panels.
Lao Wang carefully dragged it onto the deck, and the crew gathered around and talked about it.
"This thing doesn't look easy!" Lao Wang said with a frown. He had been adrift at sea for most of his life, and he had never seen anything so strange.
There is no text logo on the surface of the installation, but its exquisite workmanship and complex structure all highlight its extraordinary identity.
As fishermen, they have also heard a lot of news about things fished out of the sea, but this one looks very new and does not look like a treasure, so several people discussed and reported it to the maritime department.
Upon returning to the port, Lao Wang immediately reported the discovery to the local authorities.
Soon, a group of uniformed staff arrived at the scene and took the mysterious device away for examination.
After careful identification by experts, the true identity of this device has finally surfaced - it is a new type of marine machine developed by a major country.
This high-tech device is capable of autonomously navigating in the deep sea, collecting various hydrological data and environmental parameters.
What's even more shocking is that it also has the ability to monitor the surrounding waters in all directions.
If there are no fishermen who find out, then we will lose more than 10 billion or 100 billion.
But I didn't expect that after the news came out, it also attracted widespread attention from the international community.
United States and Japan reacted quickly by demanding that China return the "scientific research equipment," though China said it had been found in waters under Chinese jurisdiction and that its use and origin were subject to further investigation.
In fact, this is not the first time that similar incidents have occurred.
As recently as 2018, a group of fishermen and related staff turned in several suspicious underwater devices, more than half of which were found to have been made abroad.
These findings all highlight the potential threats to the mainland's maritime rights and interests.
With the dwindling offshore resources in recent years, more and more Chinese fishermen have had to take the risk of working in the open sea.
On the one hand, this increases the difficulty and safety risks of their operations, and on the other hand, it inadvertently makes them the guardians of the country's maritime rights and interests.
In the middle of the ocean, these hard-working fishermen became the first line of defense for discovering foreign spy devices.
Since ancient times, the sea has been a very important barrier for national security, and other countries often place spy devices on the seabed to monitor the seas of the mainland.
After all, the bottom of the sea is unfathomable, and there will be no special arrangement for people or machines to guard underneath.
Looking back on history, as early as 1978, a group of ordinary fishermen accidentally salvaged a US military MK46 torpedo in their daily operations.
This discovery not only shocked the people at home and abroad, but also provided valuable information for the mainland's military intelligence work.
Time flies, and in 2023, several fishermen accidentally discovered a wreck while fishing. After professional identification, the wreck actually contained valuable cultural relics.
When this discovery was announced, it started again, saying that it was their stuff.
Although the mainland is often able to intercept these devices in time, behind these discoveries, we have to face a grim reality.
For a long time, foreign forces have been conducting various reconnaissance activities in the waters around the mainland.
These activities not only threaten the security of the mainland's maritime communications, but also cause considerable interference to the mainland's military training.
In this case, the fishermen of the mainland inadvertently became a special presence in the national defense forces.
In order to give better play to the role of fishermen in national security, local governments are also actively taking measures.
In Ganyu District, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, for example, a national security contact point has been set up in a key fishing village. These points of contact not only serve as a bridge between fishermen and national security authorities, but also serve as an important platform to raise fishermen's awareness of national security.
According to statistics, the total number of fishermen on the mainland is as high as more than 14 million.
This is a huge maritime force, and if we can fully mobilize their enthusiasm, it will undoubtedly greatly enhance the mainland's maritime security and defense capability.
However, in order to give full play to the role of fishermen in national security, it is necessary to further strengthen national security education for coastal fishermen.
We need to make every fisherman aware that they are not only developers of marine resources, but also guardians of national maritime rights.
Through systematic training and education, fishermen's safety awareness and observation ability are improved, so that they can become "clairvoyants" and "ears to the wind" at sea.
In the face of an increasingly complex international situation, it has become particularly important to unite against foreign reconnaissance activities. We need the concerted efforts of the whole society to build an impregnable maritime defence.
Looking ahead, with the development of science and technology and changes in the international situation, the role of fishermen in national security may be further expanded.
The ocean is our common home and our common battlefield.
Resources
Global Network - "Meritorious! Jiangsu fishermen awarded heavy awards for salvaging unidentified objects at sea》
Yangtze Evening News - "Meritorious Service Again! Ganyu fishermen won a heavy award for catching strange devices at sea》
Haikou Net-"Qionghai Tanmen Fishermen Tell the Story of Discovering the Southern Song Dynasty Shipwreck 15 Years Ago"