South Korea’s coast guard and Navy have beefed up operations against illegal fishing by Chinese boats in the West Sea following the beginning of the spring crab-fishing season.

According to the Korea Coast Guard, the “special crackdown” will be carried out for three days through Thursday around the inter-Korean maritime border Northern Limit Line(NLL) and in the South Korean Exclusive Economic Zone(EZZ). 

A total of nine coast guard and eight naval vessels will be mobilized for the joint mission that is intended to display the country’s will to strongly deal with Chinese trespassers in Korean waters. 

An average of 20 Chinese vessels per day were spotted operating near the NLL during January to March, but the number increased to about 30 as of early this month.