Republican Lawmakers Demand US Ports Strip Chinese Shipping Giant COSCO of Its Privileges

.

A Letter Aimed at Washington's Homeland Security Chief

On October 14, 2026, three top House Republicans wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. They are John Moolenaar (chair of the House China Committee), Rick Crawford (chair of the House Intelligence Committee) and Carlos Gimenez (chair of the Homeland Security subcommittee on maritime security).

Their demand is simple: cancel the enrollment of COSCO vessels in the Coast Guard's QUALSHIP 21 program and refuse to renew it in the future. The letter was also sent to the Director of National Intelligence and the Coast Guard commandant. Fox News Digital was first to report on it.

As of July 15, 2026, eleven COSCO ships were still listed in the program, according to the letter.

.

What Is QUALSHIP 21?

QUALSHIP 21 is a Coast Guard program, launched in 2001, that rewards foreign-flagged ships with strong safety and compliance records. Ships that qualify can benefit from reduced inspections when they call at American ports.

In other words, it is a badge of trust. The lawmakers ask how a company that the Pentagon links to China's military can still wear it.

The Coast Guard recently revised the program's rules, including the criteria for removing vessels. The lawmakers now want to know whether national-security findings from the Pentagon should also count when deciding who stays in.

.

The Spying Allegations Behind the Demand

The push follows a Reuters report on September 1, 2026. Two senior Trump administration officials told the agency that COSCO ships carry hidden equipment used to listen in on military communications near the coasts of target countries, including the United States.

According to the officials, the arrangement is a decades-long partnership with Beijing. They said it allows China to collect signals from ships and aircraft across Europe, North America and Asia. They also said the goal is to learn about military communications technology and advances in encryption (the methods used to keep messages secret).

The officials did not name any specific ship and did not describe the equipment in detail. They called it advanced signals-intelligence gear, not ordinary communications hardware.

.

COSCO Rejects the Claims

COSCO denied the allegations within days. The company says all communication, navigation, safety and operating equipment on its ships serves only legitimate commercial purposes, such as safe navigation and emergency response. It says none of it is used to intercept military communications or gather intelligence.

Some trade outlets also point out that officials have so far released no public evidence to back up the claim. The company has reportedly said it reserves the right to take legal action.

That is an important caveat: the spying claims remain allegations from anonymous officials. The lawmakers' letter itself asks whether the Coast Guard received intelligence warnings about COSCO before the story became public.

.

A Company With Close Ties to Beijing

COSCO is one of the largest shipping companies in the world and is owned by the Chinese state. In January 2025, the Pentagon added it to its list of Chinese military companies (the so-called Section 1260H list). That list targets firms that support the People's Liberation Army, partly through Beijing's "military-civil fusion" strategy, which puts civilian industry to military use.

The listing does not ban COSCO ships from US ports. But it carries heavy reputational and regulatory costs.

Analysts at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank, note that COSCO's foreign ports, such as Piraeus in Greece, can also host Chinese navy ships. They add that Chinese law requires such access in wartime. That is the core of the worry: in a communist one-party state, a "commercial" company cannot easily say no to the military.

.

Tough Questions for the Coast Guard

The letter goes well beyond COSCO. The lawmakers ask whether the Coast Guard has boarded more COSCO ships, investigated crew members and reviewed old shipping routes for suspicious movements.

They also ask whether the Coast Guard has enough legal authority to deal with suspected spying on foreign commercial vessels. And they ask whether other Chinese or Hong Kong-based shipping firms pose similar risks.

One proposal stands out: removing Hong Kong from the Coast Guard's list of approved flag administrations (the registries that ships sail under). The lawmakers cite Beijing's tightening control over the city.

.

What Comes Next

DHS and the Coast Guard have not yet publicly responded to the letter. The lawmakers want answers, and the pressure on the administration to act is likely to grow.

The timing is delicate. US-China trade talks continue, and some earlier measures against Chinese shipping, such as port fees, have been paused under the current trade truce. Whether Washington will risk friction with Beijing over COSCO's status remains to be seen.

For American ports, the question is practical: should ships tied to a state that Washington sees as a strategic rival get lighter inspections than others?

.

Sources

1. Reuters, "Chinese shipper COSCO collects intel for Beijing with concealed equipment" (Sept. 1, 2026), reprint: https://thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2026/09/01/chinese-shipper-cosco-collects-intel-for-beijing-with-concealed-equipment-us-officials-say
2. Fox News, "Fears of China spying on US military prompt GOP hawks to demand retaliation against shipping giant": https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fears-china-spying-us-military-prompt-gop-hawks-demand-retaliation-shipping-giant
3. The Maritime Executive, "COSCO Calls Allegations of 'Intelligence Collection' False and Unfounded" (Sept. 4, 2026): https://maritime-executive.com/index.php/article/cosco-calls-allegations-of-intelligence-collection-false-and-unfounded
4. US Coast Guard, "Coast Guard Announces Updates to QUALSHIP 21 and E-Zero Program Guidance": https://www.news.uscg.mil/maritime-commons/Article/4485400/coast-guard-announces-updates-to-qualship-21-and-e-zero-program-guidance/
5. Foundation for Defense of Democracies, "Yes, China's State-Owned Shipping Giant Is Spying on the United States" (Sept. 9, 2026): https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2026/09/09/yes-chinas-state-owned-shipping-giant-is-spying-on-the-united-states/

.