Bias Bay placed a notorious pirate base only about 65 miles from Hong Kong while leaving it outside British territorial waters. Cantonese authorities were unwilling or unable to cooperate consistently with the Royal Navy. Nationalist and anti-foreign feeling complicated intervention, while local warlords were suspected of links to the pirates. The result was a sanctuary close to one of the region's busiest ports but protected by a jurisdictional boundary. Pirates based there carried out nine major incidents between 1924 and 1926 despite repeated British punitive action. Tactical naval superiority could not by itself solve the political problem ashore.
Notable Point · 53:45-55:22
Why Bias Bay became a persistent pirate stronghold
Bias Bay lay close to Hong Kong but outside its waters, where weak or compromised Cantonese authority made repeated piracy difficult to suppress.