China to strengthen maritime governance, laws

[TaiShang]

China to build int'l maritime judicial center

China.org.cn, March 13, 2016

China will establish an international maritime judicial center in its latest bid to protect national sovereignty and maritime rights, a report from the Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Sunday said

Courts across China shall work to implement the national strategy of building the country into a "maritime power," according to the report delivered by Chief Justice Zhou Qiang at the annual session of the national legislature.

"(We) must resolutely safeguard China's national sovereignty, its maritime rights and other core interests," the report read

 

[Abacin]

While Philippines is begging for results from Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, China’s top justice official said on Sunday that the country will establish an “international maritime judicial center” to back its increasingly controversial territorial assertions. With nearly 16,000 maritime related cases, this center will be kept busy.

China to create international maritime judicial center - CNN.com

 

[greenwood]

Good construction, China need the org to deal with increasing maritime dissensions.

 

[TaiShang]

Draft maritime law revisions say China may bar foreign ships from passing through its waters
By Leng Shumei Source: Global Times Published: 2017/2/15


China is to revise its 1984 Maritime Traffic Safety Law, which would allow the relevant authorities to bar some foreign ships from passing through Chinese territorial waters.

The Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council announced Tuesday it is soliciting public opinions on the revisions.

The draft would empower maritime authorities to prevent foreign ships from entering Chinese waters if it is decided that the ships may harm traffic safety and order.

The draft revisions stipulate that authorities will be able to designate specific areas and temporarily bar foreign ships from passing through those areas according to their own assessment of maritime traffic safety.

The revisions are based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and Chinese laws on the sea, adjacent areas and exclusive economic zones, the office said.

Wang Xiaopeng, a maritime border expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the revisions will provide legal support for China to safeguard its maritime rights.

"As a sovereign State and the biggest coastal State in, for example, the South China Sea, China is entitled to adjust its maritime laws as needed, which will also promote peace and stable development in the waters," Wang said.

Yang Cuibai, a professor with the School of Law at Sichuan University, agreed, saying that "the revisions will strengthen China's management over territorial waters in a new era when the country's communication and trade with foreign countries in the waters have sharply increased."

Yang added that China should take the lead to establish the legal order in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

Foreign submersibles should travel on the surface, display national flags and report to Chinese maritime management administrations when they pass China's water areas, the draft says. They should also get approval from the relevant administrations to enter China's internal waters and ports.

Foreign military ships that are approved to enter China's waters should apply for pilotage. Foreign ships that enter Chinese waters without approval will be fined 300,000-500,000 yuan ($43,706-72,844) and those violating Chinese laws would be expelled, it said.

"China's waters are open to foreign ships as long as they do not damage the waters' safety, order, or China's sovereignty," Yang said.

The draft also states that people in distress at sea have the right to be rescued without charge, adding that human lives should come before the environment and assets.

The State Council and local governments should set up maritime search and rescue centers, if needed, to organize, coordinate and command rescue operations, the draft says. Civilian groups are also encouraged by the revised regulations to set up rescue teams and participate in such operations.

The revisions will take effect in 2020.

@Jlaw , @ahojunk , @oprih , @cirr

 

[Jlaw]

As the world's biggest trading nation and the increasing assertiveness of certain foreign power, safeguarding and setting up laws in China's maritime boundaries is a must.

 

[terranMarine]

hell it's about time

 

[TaiShang]

As the world's biggest trading nation and the increasing assertiveness of certain foreign power, safeguarding and setting up laws in China's maritime boundaries is a must.

Agree, this also means, by 2020 in which the law will go into effect, China will have the required physical and legal framework to ensure and enforce national maritime jurisdiction in China's sovereign waters.

 

[TaiShang]

China's maritime economy expanded by 7.5 pct in last five years

CGTN 2018-01-22

According to China's State Oceanic Administration (SOA), the gross production value of the country's maritime industry grew by 7.5 percent annually on average during the past five years, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the country's GDP.

The maritime economy generated 7.8 trillion yuan (1.22 trillion US dollars) in 2017, said SOA director Wang Hong at a national maritime meeting on Sunday.

China aims to increase the gross production value of its maritime industry to 10 trillion yuan by 2020 and have it account for around 15 percent of the country's GDP by 2035, according to Wang.

Among major progress made last year, the SOA, for the first time, dispatched inspectors to 11 coastal provinces, municipalities and regions for reclamation projects.

The SOA concluded a nationwide survey of land-based sources of marine pollution, identifying a total of 9,600 such sources.

A platform for maritime management in the Nansha Islands was also set up, and forecasts on the marine environment of three reefs including Yongshu, Meiji and Zhubi have started to be released.

China made progress in maritime research expeditions, including those made by the icebreaker Xuelong and the deep-sea manned submersible Jiaolong, according to SOA.

Reforms on agenda

View of Gouqi Island fishing bay, Zhoushan city, Zhejiang Province, China /VCG Photo

Major reforms outlined by the SOA for 2018 include appointing "gulf chiefs" to step up maritime pollution control as similar approaches adopted in 2016 and 2017 to protect rivers and lakes have achieved results.

"The government will speed up the establishment of marine economy demonstration zones," said Wang, noting that it is part of the country's drive to pursue high-quality development.

Efforts will be made to foster world-class high-end marine industrial clusters in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and build Shanghai and Shenzhen into global marine centers.

China plans to put three satellites into space to improve maritime research.

In the meantime, the government will promote maritime legislation by drafting the basic law of the sea, according to the SOA.

While making intensified efforts to protect ecology and curb pollution, the government will step up inspection on law enforcement, which is expected to cover all major oceanic projects, it said.

According to the agenda, the SOA will promote the building of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road by enhancing bilateral and multilateral maritime cooperation with other countries in the new year.