Beijing Agrees to Help Police the Sale of Chinese Outboards to Smugglers

Unprecedented criticism over the growing numbers of illegal migrants crossing the English Channel using small boats has forced the UK Labor government to rethink strategy on how to deal with the menace, and one novel new solution centers on stopping the flow of engines and components.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants Beijing to stop supplying engines that power small boats used by human smuggling gangs to transport immigrants to the UK via the English Channel. During the first visit to China in eight years for a British prime minister, Starmer sealed a border security deal with Beijing to tackle the flow of Chinese-made small boat parts.

The deal is seen as critical in dealing with the problem of illegal English Channel crossings, since more than 60 percent of the small boat engines used by smugglers are manufactured in China, according to the UK. The inflatable dinghies used in small boat crossings are often made using parts sourced in China, and have been enabling gangs to pack ever larger numbers of immigrants onto single vessels, some of them carrying over 100 people.

The UK is witnessing a significant increase in the numbers of migrants arriving in the country using small boats. Home Office data show that traffic last year was among the highest on record, with more than 41,400 illegal migrants crossing the English Channel - a 13 percent increase compared to 36,600 in 2024. The data show that 2022 remains as the worst year on record for small boat crossings, with over 45,000 people arriving in the UK via small boats.

Owing to the large numbers, the Labor government has faced criticism of an alleged inability to deal with the problem despite Starmer vowing to ‘smash the gangs’ in November 2024. Since coming into office, the Labor government reckons that it has prevented 40,000 crossing attempts, specifically through joint work with France. It has also delivered a 33 percent surge in disruptions to migrant smuggling operations, with nearly 4,000 completed since July 2024. More than 950 boats and engines have also been seized since early 2023.

The UK is hoping the deal with China will be instrumental in its fight against the illegal crossings. Specifically, the UK law enforcement agencies intend to work with Chinese authorities to prevent small boat engines and equipment used in the English Channel crossings getting into the hands of criminal gangs.

This will be achieved through intelligence sharing to identify smugglers' supply routes and direct engagement with Chinese manufacturers to prevent legitimate businesses being exploited by organized crime.

“Organized immigration crime and the business model of the smuggling gangs goes beyond borders and our approach to shut them down must do the same. This deal will help us cut off the supply of boats at source - stopping crossings before lives are put at risk and restoring control to our borders,” said Starmer.

The UK-China agreement comes just weeks after the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Belgian authorities masterminded the jailing of a Turkish national who was described as the “number one target” in the trade of supplying small boats to smuggling gangs. Adem Savas, 45, was jailed for 11 years and fined $48,000 for being the main importer of cheap ‘Parsun’ branded outboard engines sourced from China. The engines are the type most frequently used by gangs operating small boats in the English Channel. His three co-defendants were handed sentences totaling 38 years.

Top image: Mstyslav Chernov / Unframe / CC BY SA 4.0