The U.S. Department of State formally expressed concern on 19 September about the “China Coast Guard Law” that explicitly authorizes the Chinese Coast Guard to use force in the face of “unlawful violations” in “jurisdictional waters and airspace,” warning that The law could exacerbate maritime disputes and be used for illegal sovereignty claims. State Department spokesman Price blasted the language of the Chinese maritime police law as “strongly suggesting that the law could be used to intimidate maritime neighbors.
The Chinese Maritime Police Law was passed by the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress last month and took effect on the first of this month. Price said at a regular press conference that the U.S. is concerned about the language in the law that explicitly links the potential use of force, including weapons, by the Chinese maritime police to the enforcement of China’s sovereignty claims and ongoing territorial and maritime disputes in the East and South China Seas.
Maritime police law exacerbates maritime disputes
Price said the Chinese maritime police law could exacerbate China’s territorial and maritime disputes with other countries, especially since the law states that the Chinese maritime police have the power to forcibly demolish economic structures in other countries, which could become a basis for China to “intimidate” its neighbors. According to China’s maritime police law, “foreign organizations and individuals who construct buildings, structures, and place all kinds of fixed or floating devices in the waters and islands under China’s jurisdiction without the approval of China’s competent authorities” can be forcibly removed.
Price noted that the United States is also concerned that China may invoke the law in the South China Sea to carry out illegal sovereignty claims, and added that the United States “adhere” to the commitment of the alliance to Japan and the Philippines, and reminded China that “responsible maritime power is to act professionally and to exercise restraint in the exercise of authority “, calling on China to exercise professional self-control.
Emphasizing the illegality of China’s claims to the South China Sea
Price also reiterated former Secretary of State Pompeo‘s “U.S. Position on Maritime Claims in the South China Sea” issued last July 13, emphasizing that China’s “unlawful” claims to the South China Sea were rejected by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in July 2016, and calling on China to abide by its commitment to avoid the threat of force in accordance with the UN Charter and to act in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It called on China to act in accordance with the UN Charter’s commitment to avoid the threat of force and in conformity with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
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