Ships passing through the Gulf have begun declaring themselves as Chinese-owned or Chinese-crewed in an attempt to avoid Iranian attacks during the ongoing war. At least 10 vessels over the past week altered their Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals to display messages such as “Chinese Owner", “All Chinese Crew" or “Chinese Crew Onboard", states a Financial Times report.
The tactic was reported after analysis of MarineTraffic data and was first highlighted by the Financial Times.
I understand the desire to avoid attack but isn’t flying a literal false flag one of the most egregious violations of intl law, or the ‘law of the seas’ or whatever?
If they’re civilian vessels, not really. But it’s not necessarily a lie, the article doesn’t say whether the vessels are actually Chinese owned/operated/crewed or not.
Perfidy is generally restricted to engaging in combat while flying another country’s flag or wearing another military’s uniform. As long as you aren’t fighting while flying another flag, it’s generally considered a legitimate ruse.
That being said, national governments tend to frown on their flag being used so rather… severely. I wouldn’t dock in China anytime soon after pulling a trick like that.