No, not smurfs or the Blue Man Group, we are talking about Chinese naval auxiliaries akin to the old Soviet “Fishing Trawlers” of the Cold War days.
Defense News has an interesting article on these curious fellows of the China Sea:
“China is trying to use these government-controlled fisherman below the radar to get the bonus without the onus to support its South China Sea claims,” Andrew Erickson, an associate professor at the US Naval War College and well-known authority on Chinese naval and maritime affairs said. “It’s a phenomenon little-known or understood in the US.
“While Russia’s little green men in Crimea are widely known, insufficient attention has been paid to China’s little blue men in the South China Sea,” he said. “It’s so different from what the US does. People aren’t familiar with it, it’s hard to wrap their heads around it.”
