On March 4, 2012, the Nanyang Post published an article titled “The PLA Proposes Placing the Coast Guard on the South China Sea.” In the article, Tian Fuzhou, a PLA civilian-level cadre and a member of the CPPCC (Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference), expressed the belief that the South China Sea problems need to be solved by Armed Marine Guards (the Coast Guard). Tian said in a media interview that the key to solving the South China Sea problem is to establish China’s national prestige by using armed marine guards on the sea, similar to the armed police, rather than the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (the PLA).
Source: Nanyang Post, March 4, 2012
http://news.nanyangpost.com/2012/03/tian-fuzhou.html