BEIJING: China has granted its border patrol police the right to board and expel
foreign ships entering disputed waters in the South China Sea, state media
reported on Thursday.
The move comes after Beijing
issued new passports containing a map showing its claim to almost the whole of
the South China Sea, infuriating its neighbours. Vietnam and the Philippines
are refusing to stamp the documents.
The southern Chinese province of
Hainan passed new regulations this week allowing local police "to board,
seize and expel foreign ships illegally entering the province's sea
areas", the state-run Global Times reported.
Activities defined as illegal by
the new regulation include "illegally halting or dropping anchor... and
carrying out publicity campaigns that endanger China's national security",
the official Xinhua news agency said.
Hainan province administers
around two million square kilometres (800,000 sq miles) of ocean waters
including the Spratly islands, which are also claimed in whole or in part by
the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The South China Sea includes some
of the world's most important shipping lanes and is believed to be rich in
fossil fuels.
The Global Times quoted Li
Zhaojie, a professor at Beijing's Tsinghua University, as saying the regulation
could lead to stricter enforcement of Beijing's right to expel ships entering
its territory illegally.
Li said these rights were granted
by a UN convention.
"In the past, when foreign
ships broke the UN convention, the best thing our patrol could do was chase
them out of China's waters. The new regulation will change that, and give the
patrol force the legal means to actually do its job."
China has been accused of ramping
up tensions in the area in the recent past, with the Philippines and Vietnam
raising the alarm over Beijing's assertiveness.
It discourages multilateral talks
on the issue and has refused to start negotiations on a code of conduct for the
region, although United States President Barack Obama discussed it with
Southeast Asian leaders at a summit this month.
- AFP/xq
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