It also occurred to me that CG aviation assets could include medium and long range surveillance aircraft. The US CG operates C-130's for homeland security patrol, S&R, and surveillance. China's CG could follow this example and obtain a few Y-8 or future built Y-9's.
If we look at the EP-3 incident, it'd have turned out a lot differently if China had CG patrol aircraft to send instead of PLAAF fighters. Rather than J-8's, you could send a Y-8 CG patrol aircraft coated in white with CG stripes to operate counter-surveillance operation.
Coast Guard ships should not carry too many military grade weapons, or else it'd lose its non-military, law-enforcement vessel status. CG patrol ships and cutters offers the option to confront someone without using your military assets, which IMO is good because the military should be trained to fight wars, not border/sea police duties. i.e. if you're going to send peace keepers abroad, they should be trained for that role and not the regular army trained only to shoot and kill.
