Beijing has announced that foreign vessels entering Chinese territorial waters would have to report their ship and cargo information to China’s maritime authorities.
The new regulation is supposed to be applicable to the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and the various islands and reefs dotted across the water that Beijing claims as its inalienable territory, including its nine-dash-line claims in the South China Sea.
China’s state-run Global Times reported that operators of submersibles, nuclear vessels, ships carrying radioactive materials and ships carrying bulk oil, chemicals, liquefied gas and other toxic and harmful substances are required to report their detailed information upon their visits to Chinese territorial waters.
The United States appeared to ignore the demand of China for all foreign ships entering the South China Sea to register with Chinese maritime authorities for access, describing it as a “serious threat” to freedom of navigation and trade.
“The United States remains firm that any coastal state law or regulation must not infringe upon navigation and overflight rights enjoyed by all nations under international law,” Pentagon spokesman John Supple said, reacting to a question about China’s decree this week.
“Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims, including in the South China Sea, pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded lawful commerce, and the rights and interests of South China Sea and other littoral nations,” Supple added.
In addition to the above-mentioned types of vessels, ships that may endanger the maritime traffic safety of China prescribed by laws, administrative regulations or provisions of the State Council — China’s cabinet — should also follow the new regulation which took effect on September 1, the Maritime Safety Administration announced in the notice.
Those vessels should report to authorities the name, call sign, current position and next port of call and estimated time of arrival.
The name of shipborne dangerous goods and cargo deadweight are also required in the report.
After entering the Chinese territorial sea, a follow-up report is not required if the vessel’s automatic identification system is in good condition. But if the automatic identification system does not work properly, the vessel should report every two hours until it leaves the territorial sea, read the Maritime Safety Administration announcement.
Beijing insisted territorial claims over the resource-rich waterways, the busiest sea lanes in the world.
They have become a source of growing tension between Beijing, neighboring Southeast Asian nations – Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan and Washington for years.
In July 2016, the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration rendered a judgment invalidating Beijing’s sweeping claims of almost the entire South China Sea and upheld Manila’s exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea.
To challenge China’s claims, the United States regularly conducts “freedom of navigation” exercises in the region, intended to assert the waterways’ status as international sea routes.
In July, China’s military said it drove away an American warship that had passed near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea—known in China as the Xisha Islands and in Vietnam as the Hoang Sa Islands.
The US Navy later said that China’s statement about driving away the US ship was false.
“The United States remains committed to upholding the rules-based international order and a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” said Supple, the Pentagon spokesman.