南中國海域一直以來是海盜活躍的地區之一，往來的商船均視此海域為危險之海。英國船隻在此海面遇難多次，香港民間團體陸續向英政府陳情，使得英國派軍隊前往該海面進行討剿，目的是為了打擊沿岸海盜村落。此舉未經中國政府許可，進而爆發反英風潮。另一方面，日本船隻也在此海域吃盡苦頭，1928 年發生的錦江丸事件，據日方說法，該船在福建平潭海面觸礁後遇劫，日本軍艦前往驅逐並開火示威，造成中國平民傷亡慘重，同時也換來中國方面的強烈抗議，甚至轉變成反日浪潮。因此，日方針對福建及廣東一帶的盜匪調查報告書，可從內容看見中國地方勢力的群立，特別是在1930年代左右，由於國內政治派系的劃分，國民革命軍辛苦完成的北伐成果，頓時又陷入地方與中央無止盡的爭鬥。而盤據各省區的地方匪徒，也趁戰亂之際，再次坐大勢力，並與其他地方實力派別結盟。由調查得到的情報來看，官府力量始終對這些偏遠地區難以掌控。加上中國海軍的分裂，難以維護沿海治安。本文希冀可以藉日方的調查報告，從日本的角度來看中國海盜的問題。

South China Sea was one of the seas where pirates often operated. Many merchant ships regarded the sea as danger zone. The British government in Hong Kong made a series of attempts to suppress pirates, but instead causing anti-British wave in China in 1925.Later on, Japan's ship Jinjiangmaru was stranded near Pingtan, Fujian in 1928 and was attacked by some local pirates. To rescue the ship, Japanese battleships fired and wounded innocent people and caused anti-Japanese movement among Chinese. To avoid offending Chinese people further, Japan government conducted research to deal with pirates problems more effectively. The Japanese official reports shed light on the political, social, and economic problems in southern China which made the piracy so widespread in the early twentieth century.