The Standing Committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress (NPC) will meet from Wednesday to Friday to consider the draft of the Marine Police Law, which authorizes the Chinese Marine Police to use weapons when dealing with foreign vessels conducting illegal activities in Chinese waters.
Some analysts believe that after the passage of the Marine Police Law, the positioning of the Chinese Marine Police in the armed forces system will be clearer in times of war, and it may even become “China’s second navy”. Some scholars believe that Beijing will exercise restraint in the face of sovereignty disputes.
China’s draft Marine Police Law clarifies the authority of the marine police department responsible for maritime security, stipulating that the scope of marine police law enforcement includes China’s internal waters, territorial waters, adjacent areas, exclusive economic zone, continental shelf and other waters under China’s jurisdiction.
For buildings and various fixed or floating devices built by foreign organizations or individuals without China’s approval, the Marine Police has the right to order them to rectify the situation, and can forcibly remove them if they refuse to cooperate.
The draft states that the duties of the Marine Police include patrolling the waters under China’s jurisdiction, guarding key islands and reefs, and preventing and stopping acts that endanger national sovereignty, security and maritime rights and interests. Article 43 of the draft states that if a foreign ship enters the waters under China’s jurisdiction and illegally engages in production and operational activities, disobeys instructions to stop the ship or refuses to be boarded and inspected by the Chinese marine police, the marine police personnel may use weapons after warnings are ineffective.
The Chinese Marine Police has been under the Armed Police Force since three years ago. In June last year, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed a revision of the Armed Police Law, which added a section on “organization and command,” which states that when in a state of war, the Armed Police is organized and commanded by the Central Military Commission to carry out its tasks.
In recent years, the situation in the East and South China Seas has continued to be turbulent. According to Chinese political scientist Chen Daoyin, the Chinese Marine Police is expected to play a more important role in the future.
At present, China’s navy is still mainly for offshore defense,” Chen said. If it is in a wartime state, then correspondingly, the administrative and law enforcement forces of the marine police will definitely be strengthened. There will certainly be coordinated in concert. If it is near-sea combat, in the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea and the hostile forces in the case of formal armed conflict at sea, then this Time the marine police should come out, in accordance with the requirements of the “Marine Police Law” to delineate the relative sea areas.”
He pointed out that after the passage of the “Marine Police Law”, the positioning of the marine police in the armed forces system in times of war will be based on the law.
Chen Daoyin said, “After the establishment of the marine police in 2018, there has been no basis for law enforcement so far, while China is currently trying to build a rule of law state. You are an administrative law enforcement force must have a basis for law enforcement. After the law is clear at least let the external forces and forces can see, the marine police can make action and response.”
Marine police or become China’s “second navy”?
But Chen Daoyin believes that, from a legal point of view, the Marine Police Law clearly has a gray area.
Chen Daoyin said: “In the administrative enforcement of this piece is very strong, but in some law enforcement space, it is vague. For example, the ‘jurisdictional sea area’. What do you mean by ‘jurisdictional waters’? If you can narrowly understand it, it is the autonomous region under the law of the sea, the territorial sea, internal waters, etc. set by the mainland law. You can also interpret it broadly, as long as my Marine Police Corps is on the high seas, in the shipping lanes, I have the right to enforce the law.”
Military commentator Huang Dong predicted that the passage of the Marine Police Law would be an opportunity for the Chinese Marine Police to upgrade its equipment.
Huang Dong said, “(The marine police) will use more advanced and larger vessels, for example, more than five thousand tons (ships) may be common, and the scope of China’s marine police activities, the future will continue to expand with the scope of naval activities, when it (marine police) in the South China Sea and the East China Sea can steadily support the expansion of national power, the Chinese marine police in the foreseeable future will go to Far away, to the Indian Ocean, not only the navy, the marine police will also participate in the Gulf of Aden escort.”
In Taiwan, Li Zhengxiu, a military expert at the National Foundation for Policy Research, estimates that Beijing developed its current model in light of the U.S. Navy’s experience.
Li Zhengxiu said, “What is the U.S. way? In addition to the regular three armies, they have the National Guard, the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard sometimes runs to East Asia to combat piracy and smuggling, so mainland China has found that as if the U.S. has such force and coordination, the Marine Police can also assist the PLA Navy in such situations as homeland defense, and the auxiliary role of defending against foreign enemies.”
Some public opinion has even likened the Marine Police to China’s “second navy.”
Beijing will say, “I’ve always been primarily defensive,” Li said. I am now amending the Marine Police Law only to allow the Marine Police to assist the PLA Navy in my own defense of the national territory and territorial waters. But it is undeniable that since Xi Jinping came to power, he is so concerned about expanding China’s influence that he revised China’s ‘national defense law’ not long ago. Although the Chinese Communist authorities have always stressed that we will not initiate force or fire voluntarily, in the situation they will create an atmosphere of so-called ‘victimization’ and only when they can’t stand it will they strike back because of defense.”
Foreigners worry about civilian vessels becoming targets of Chinese marine police strikes
Japanese media had commented that after the passage of the Marine Police Law, China would have an impact on Japanese vessels operating near the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands). Li Zhengxiu does not rule out the possibility that Chinese officials will target Japanese fishing vessels operating in the waters of the Diaoyu Islands, or even vessels of The Japanese Coast Guard, in order to demonstrate their determination to defend the territory.
Li Zhengxiu said: “The easiest place to have a conflict with Japan is of course the Diaoyu Islands, there may be a small number of marine police officers, in order to show that they have the determination and attempt to defend the territory, deliberately approach the Diaoyu Islands, deliberately to provoke. They all know that in the event of a conflict, the Chinese Communist Party must be the first to take the side of its own people.”
Documents recently declassified in advance by the U.S. government reveal details of the Indo-Pacific regional strategic framework developed in 2018, which includes the inclusion of Taiwan in the first island chain, the maritime defense line set by the U.S. in response to mainland China, linking Japan, the Philippines and others. In the conflict to deny mainland China a sustained naval and air superiority within the first island chain.
Taiwan military expert Li Zhengxiu, however, believes that China’s adoption of the Maritime Police Act will not have an impact on the Indo-Pacific strategy.
The Indo-Pacific Strategy does not yet see mainland China as a real military threat,” Lee said. They feel that there is no way for mainland China to really threaten U.S. military deployments here at this time, only that they will watch closely, so the changes to China’s Maritime Police Act do not yet pose a real threat to the United States at this time.”
Scholar: Beijing will exercise restraint in the face of sovereignty disputes
In response to concerns that the Chinese Communist authorities are attempting to “package” the legality of military action in law, Li Mingjiang, an associate professor at the School of International Relations at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, believes that Beijing will exercise restraint in the face of sovereignty disputes.
In general, China is very cautious about using force and military means in disputed areas of the South China Sea,” Li said. In the past, there have been many conflicts and even clashes over fisheries or energy extraction, and Chinese maritime law enforcement agencies and personnel have not fired. A practice that China has continued over the years is that it will use gray policies and practices when it comes to disputed waters. It legislates for no other reason than it wants to have a deterrent effect.”
Huang Jiezheng, director of the Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan, also believes that there will not be a scenario in the future where China’s marine police will fight against another country’s navy.
Huang said, “It (the Marine Police) is enforcing the law at sea and is a police force at sea. Although it has armed forces, we hardly ever see the marine police directly fighting with the navy of another country, there is no such situation, it is usually navy against navy and marine police against marine police.”
Wang Zhongcai, who has been the commander of the General Maritime Police Force of the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force (head of the Chinese Maritime Police Bureau) since 2018, is of PLA naval origin and served as deputy chief of staff of the PLA’s East Sea Fleet. Some analysts believe that Wang’s naval background reflects the positioning of the Marine Police by Beijing authorities.
Scholar Huang Jiezheng, however, believes that it is not appropriate for outsiders to read too much into it.
The Chinese Maritime Police is under the control of the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force after the 19th National Congress in 2017, while the Armed Police is under the control of the Central Military Commission. This is not particularly incorrect logically speaking.”
In any case the Maritime Police Law has clearly sounded the alarm for China’s neighbors, whose coastal defense forces are likely to encounter new challenges in the future when on duty.
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