With this new draft law on the China Coast Guard, Beijing’s leadership is openly brandishing its blueprint to turn the open tides of the South China sea into controlled waters under the rule of the PLAN. China is methodically targeting fishing vessels from smaller nations, rather than warships from countries passing through the South China Sea
@Kunal_Chonkar
New Delhi: Two weeks ago, China released a new draft law on its Coast Guard, clearly demonstrating its devious plans to enforce the waters of the South China Sea under its control. Beijing unveiled the draft on the same, after the navies of Australia, India, Japan and the United States concluded Phase One of the Exercise Malabar 2020 in the Bay of Bengal.
Under the new draft law released on November 6, the National People’s Congress of China has armed the Chinese Coast Guard with the right to use weapons against foreign vessels that it considers are violating or breaching ‘China’s waters’ in two scenarios. Firstly, the Chinese Coast Guard can initiate force in an emergency situation, or when the warnings — pressing vessels to halt and allow the Chinese naval officers to climb aboard for inspection — are ignored or opposed.
According to maritime experts, if this controversial draft law is passed by Beijing, then it will add muscle to the Chinese Coast Guard’s unchallenged authority. The permission to use lethal force will primarily threaten and endanger the fishing activities carried out by fishermen of Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam in the South China Sea.
Beijing’s stratagem
The concept of ‘China’s waters’ is a controversial one. Beijing only voices generic claims on the waters under its sovereignty, sovereignty rights, and jurisdiction, but has never stated the specific geographical or maritime boundaries of these waters.
Firstly, if China relies on the nine-dash line — also known as the U-shaped line — to then refer to ‘China’s waters,’ would be an outright violation of international law. As the legality of the nine-dash line is already dismissed by the permanent court of arbitration. On second count, if Beijing counts upon the waters stretching the entities in the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos — which are under the sovereignty of Vietnam — to determine its ‘waters,’ would also be in contravention to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Thirdly, if China reckons on its declaration of the establishment of the Four-Sha administration to indirectly enforce control over waters in the South China Sea that would also be infringement of the conventional international practices. As unilateral statements that face strong opposition from concerned states cannot constitute a legal basis for sovereignty claims.
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Thus, with such testaments the ambiguity in the definition of ‘China’s waters’ will certainly lead to the China Coast Guard’s arbitrary use of its weapons against foreign vessels in waters that it claims as ‘China’s waters.’
Vietnam on the radar
The contentious draft law authorizing use of weapons is targeting the Vietnamese fishermen dropping nets in the South China Sea. There are several past instances wherein the Chinese Coast Guard have repeatedly rammed into and pillaged Vietnamese fishing boats.
Patrolling speed boats of the Chinese Coast Guard have time and again forcefully boarded Vietnamese fishing vessels, assaulted the fishermen, and at time arrested them.
“Most of these incidents involving Chinese Coast Guards confronting Vietnamese fishing boats happen around the Paracel waters. There are also incidents of the Chinese Coast Guard ships crushing small fishing boats and sinking them. However, most of these incidents have been reported by international media and played against China. The new draft law gives the Coast Guard the authority to now not only use weapons but use ‘force.’ This way China can defend its action citing the law,” a defence analyst from Singapore explained to TheNews21.
He insisted that the draft law should trigger unanimous concerns from the countries that are locked in maritime disputes with China on the South China Sea. He cautioned that Vietnam in particular needs to closely monitor the developments of Beijing’s new draft law.
Turning tides in South China Sea
With this new draft law on the China Coast Guard, Beijing is openly brandishing its blueprint to turn the open tides of the South China Sea into controlled waters under the rule of the PLAN. Beijing is methodically targeting fishing vessels from smaller nations, rather than warships from countries passing through the South China Sea, by availing an expanded authority to openly use weapons to its Coast Guard.
“This tactic will aid China in avoiding the use of force, which can lead to justified military defence from countries in the region, or collective self-defence involving countries outside the region. As such, Beijing would not need to engage in an unnecessary armed conflict, but could still, over time, control the South China sea, primarily through its Coast Guard fleet,” a senior maritime expert from Hong Kong deciphered.
Citing a concept that has not been agreed upon by the concerned countries, especially those that are locked in maritime disputes with China in the South China Sea, the draft law that gives the China Coast Guard the authority to extend its right to use weapons will aggravate conflicts between the concerned parties.
It will also further complicate the disputes in the region’s waters, and contravene the principle of peace and restraint stated in the Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea (DOC) that China has always called on all sides to respect and adhere.
