South China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) has been employing new technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence (AI) in all aspects of border management and maritime control work, making the governance of maritime territory more accurate and efficient.
At the command center of the Huangpu Border Inspection Station in Guangzhou City, a vessel verification system is collecting real-time data on vessels' location, radar-derived movement tracks and declaration information, so as to conduct risk assessment.
In 2023, the station set up a maritime analysis system that includes a ship verification module and integrates data, models and operational tactics. This helps authorities get a timely, clearer picture of conditions at sea.
"By analyzing these points from the system, we can gain an overall understanding of the vessels at sea and conduct relevant data analysis," said Wei Dongwei, a staff member of the Huangpu Border Inspection Station under the Guangzhou General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection.
Over the recent years, the station has cracked 28 cases related to maritime smuggling and illegal immigration, seized 30 vessels, and confiscated over one million cartons of smuggled cigarettes and 5.25 tons of drugs, effectively deterring illegal and criminal activities at sea.
Beyond tackling maritime smuggling and illegal immigration, law enforcement in areas such as marine fisheries also depends strongly on advanced technological support.
Across Guangdong Province, maritime law enforcement teams are using new technologies to target illegal fishing, unauthorized alterations to fishing vessels, and operations that damage submarine cables. They are also actively exploring how AI can be applied.
"We have 100 percent achieved three goals in fishing vessel safety supervision: efficiency improvement, inspection coverage, and closed-loop management of potential hazards," said He Junjie, a staff member of Zhuhai Municipal Marine Comprehensive Law Enforcement Team.
Intelligent technologies are also being used to protect national security at cross-regional ports.
Customs officials at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, a 55-kilometer bridge links the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR) and Zhuhai, have installed intelligent inspection equipment in the passenger vehicle lanes. The system performs non-invasive scanning of vehicle chassis, trunks and hidden compartments, generating images immediately, so as to improve both the efficiency and accuracy of customs checks.
"We are accelerating the development of smart customs, exploring the establishment of a collaborative prevention and control mechanism that combines risk analysis, intelligence and on-site verification, and using smart supervision equipment to provide intelligent assistance for on-site inspections," said Wang Peiyang, a staff member of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge customs.
Guangdong was designated as China's first pilot province to build smart border and coastal defense in 2018. Through next-generation information technologies such as big data, the Internet of Things and AI, the province has achieved intelligent operation in areas such as target identification, automatic early warning and coordinated response.
The project has since expanded from the original four pilot cities to cover all 14 coastal cities in the province, achieving full monitoring coverage of 4,084 kilometers of coastline and a 24-nautical-mile zone.
"Currently, our intelligent border and coastal defense system is widely used in combating smuggling and illegal immigration, strengthening port and marine ecology and fisheries management, providing strong support for maritime departments as they perform duties and enforce the law," said Zeng Pin, a staff member of the Guangdong Provincial Coastal Defense Committee office.
New technologies make maritime management in Guangzhou more accurate, efficient
