The Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary said he has protested to China over the Maritime Police Law. The PRC Maritime Police Law authorizes Chinese maritime police to use weapons and authorizes them to demolish structures built by foreign countries on islands over which China claims sovereignty.
“After much deliberation, I have lodged a diplomatic protest,” Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin Jr. tweeted Wednesday (Jan. 27), adding that the Marine Police Act “is a verbal threat of war to any country that defies it, and if no one challenges it, (countries) will be able to make a decision. If no one challenges it, (countries) will be submitting to it.”
The Marine Police Law of the People’s Republic of China, adopted last Friday, mentions that “when the sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of the state are being unlawfully infringed by foreign organizations and individuals at sea or are in imminent danger of being unlawfully infringed, the marine police agencies have the right to take all necessary measures, including the use of weapons, to stop the infringement and remove the danger in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws and regulations. “
Article 47 of the Marine Police Law also mentions that when a foreign vessel enters the waters under China’s jurisdiction to illegally engage in production and operational activities, refuses to obey instructions to stop the vessel or otherwise refuses to accept inspection, and the use of other measures is insufficient to stop the violation, the staff of the marine police agency may use hand-held weapons.
The law also stipulates that the Marine Police have the right to stop or forcibly demolish structures built by foreign agencies in the waters and islands under Chinese jurisdiction without authorization.
Philippine Congresswoman Risa Hontiveros also took to Twitter on Wednesday to urge the Philippine government to express concern over China’s maritime police law and to condemn China’s recent harassment of Filipino fishermen near Zhongye Island in the South China Sea, which China calls the South China Sea.
China has been involved in a territorial dispute with the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia in the South China Sea for decades, and the Philippines had strongly condemned and lodged a diplomatic protest with China in 2019 when a Chinese fishing boat abandoned 22 Filipino fishermen in the South China Sea after colliding with a Philippine vessel near Lile Beach.
The Associated Press reported that China’s law increases the risk and possibility of conflict with regional maritime rivals.
According to Kyodo News, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party held a joint meeting of the National Defense Group and the Security Investigation Committee on Tuesday. The meeting was about China’s Marine Police Law, where concerns and criticisms emerged one after another, and urged The Japanese government to explore a sound law to deal with unpredictable developments around the Senkaku Islands (known in China as the Diaoyu Islands), where Chinese marine police vessels sail.
The report also said that officials from the Ministry of Defense who attended the meeting responded that they “will sort out the issue”, and that there were also calls from members of the meeting to amend the law so that the Self Defense Forces can take maritime security actions.
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