Monthly Archives: January 2014

Expulsions likely as Hainan requires permission to fish in South China Sea

A Chinese local government has quietly introduced a set of rules that require all foreign fishing vessels to seek approval from authorities to operate in the vast area that Beijing claims in the resource-rich South China Sea. Analysts said the new rules rolled out by Hainan – the latest move to reinforce control of the […]

Hainan’s New Fishing Rules: A Preliminary Analysis

Hainan’s provincial government has become an increasingly prominent and active player in the South China Sea disputes.  In November 2012, Hainan’s People’s Congress issued new regulations on coastal border security that raised questions about freedom for navigation in the South China Sea (see analysis here and here). In November 2013, the same legislative body issued […]

China tightens grip on disputed sea

BEIJING—In a broadening campaign to enforce its territorial claims, China says it’s beefing up its police powers in the disputed South China Sea, presumably including waters known in Manila as West Philippine Sea, and requiring foreign fishermen to ask Beijing’s permission to operate within most of the vast, strategic waterway. The move, which took effect […]

China Defends New Fishing Rules in Disputed Waters

China is defending a move by Hainan province to require all foreign fishing vessels to seek permission before entering disputed waters in the South China Sea that are claimed by Beijing. The new rule, which went into effect on January 1, covers more than half the 3.5 million square kilometers of the South China Sea. […]

DFA verifying China’s new fishing regulation in South China Sea

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday said it is verifying reports on China’s new fishing regulation over South China Sea that requires foreign fishing vessels entering the disputed waters to obtain permission from the Chinese government. Such policy, which came after China’s imposition of an air defense zone that triggered protests from several countries […]

China Orders Foreign Fishing Vessels Out of Most of the South China Sea

China has ordered foreign fishing vessels to obtain approval from regional authorities before fishing or surveying in two thirds of the South China Sea, setting up the potential for new confrontations between Beijing and its neighbors over maritime sovereignty claims to disputed islands. The new orders went into effect Jan. 1 after they were issued […]

China’s Doublethink on the Law of the Sea

Senior Colonel Zhou Bo set China-watchers atwitter last week when he informed a group including Admiral Samuel Locklear, big kahuna of the U.S. Pacific Command, that the PLA Navy has “sort of reciprocated America’s reconnaissance in our EEZ by sending our ships to America’s EEZ for reconnaissance.” One meme making the rounds among the punditry […]

Updated Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report—Ronald O’Rourke, “Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress

Ronald O’Rourke, Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 9 August 2013), R42784. Summary This report presents policy and oversight issues for Congress arising from (1) maritime territorial disputes involving China in the South China Sea (SCS) and East China Sea (ECS) and (2) an additional […]