China Authorizes Coast Guard to Fire on Foreign Vessels if Needed

China passed a law on Friday that for the first time explicitly allows its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels, a move that could make the contested waters around China more choppy.
China has maritime sovereignty
disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with several Southeast Asian
countries in the South China Sea. It has sent its coast guard to chase away
fishing vessels from other countries, sometimes resulting in the sinking of
these vessels.
China's top legislative body, the
National People's Congress standing committee, passed the Coast Guard Law on
Friday, according to state media reports.
According to draft wording in the
bill published earlier, the coast guard is allowed to use "all necessary
means" to stop or prevent threats from foreign vessels.
The bill specifies the
circumstances under which different kind of weapons - hand-held, ship borne or
airborne - can be used.
The bill allows coast guard
personnel to demolish other countries' structures built on Chinese-claimed
reefs and to board and inspect foreign vessels in waters claimed by China.
The bill also empowers the
coastguard to create temporary exclusion zones "as needed" to stop
other vessels and personnel from entering.
Responding to concerns, Chinese
foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Friday that the law is in
line with international practices.
The first article of the bill
explains that the law is needed to safeguard China's sovereignty, security and
maritime rights.
This law comes seven years after
China merged several civilian maritime law-enforcement agencies to form a coast
guard bureau.
After the bureau came under the command of the People's Armed Police in 2018, it became a proper branch of the military forces.