On Wednesday, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) officially enacted the Maritime Traffic Safety Law that requires all foreign vessels entering “Chinese territorial waters” to notify Beijing. Experts have warned that the law’s enactment is a “ticking time bomb” for conflict in the already volatile South China Sea.
In April, the NPC amended the law requiring all foreign vessels entering what it deems to be Chinese territorial waters to inform maritime authorities, carry relevant permits, and “submit to Chinese command and supervision.” The law also gives Beijing the authority to instruct foreign vessels that “threaten the safety of Chinese internal or territorial waters” to leave the premises and exercise the “right of immediate pursuit.”
In a statement, the Chinese Maritime Safety Administration said: “Operators of submersibles, nuclear vessels, ships carrying radioactive materials, bulk oil, chemicals, liquefied gas and other toxic and harmful substances are required to report their detailed information upon their visits to Chinese territorial waters.” The statement added that the law requires the reports to include the vessel’s name, call sign, current position, next port of call, estimated course and speed, nature of goods, and loading capacity.
Stirring up conflict in the maritime realm is not new to Chinese foreign policy. In May, Beijing imposed a unilateral fishing ban in the South China Sea, claiming it is for environmental conservation.
Similarly, the NPC passed the China Coast Guard (CCG) Law earlier this year, which came into effect on February 1. It militarised the CCG and brought it under the centralised command of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission. The law also gave power to the CCG to use “all necessary means,” including the use of force, against foreign vessels that enter waters that Beijing deems to fall under its territory. In addition, it allowed the CCG to demolish structures formed by other countries in its waters.
The new maritime law, which would apply to the South China Sea, the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the various islands and reefs that Beijing claims to be part of its inalienable territory, is expected to increase tensions in the region.
These territorial claims by Beijing have been dismissed internationally. In 2016, an international panel ruled that China’s “historic” rights assertion within the nine-dash line, which Beijing uses to outline its claims in the disputed South China Sea, are without legal foundation. China dismissed the ruling as “nothing more than a piece of waste paper” and has continued its aggressive provocations in the region.