China deploys oceangoing patrol vessel to West Philippine Sea - report

From InterAksyon (Dec 27): China deploys oceangoing patrol vessel to West Philippine Sea - report

China has deployed its oceangoing patrol vessel equipped with a helipad to monitor maritime activities in the disputed West Philippine Sea, state-owned English language daily newspaper China Daily reported on Thursday. China's Maritime Bureau of the Ministry Transport deputy head Huang He said the patsrol vessel, Haixun 21, would “monitor maritime traffic safety, investigate maritime accidents, detect pollution, carry out search and rescue work and fulfil international conventions”. “In the past, Hainan provincial maritime law enforcement entities could only cover coastal waters and never reached the high seas. The newly enlisted Haixun 21 ends the history of no large oceangoing patrol vessels in the South China Sea,” Hainan Maritime Safety Administration Ruan Ruiwen was quoted by China Daily as saying. The report said Haixun 21 was the first of its kind to be deployed in the island and waters of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). Haixun 21 is 93.2 meters long with a maximum sailing distance of 4,000 nautical miles or 7,408 kilometers, without refuelling. Its maximum sailing speed is 22 knots or 40.74 kilometers per hour while the helipad, located at the stern, is about 21 meters long and 11 meters wide.

The deployment of Haixun 21 was made after Hainan province annouced last month that it had approved new rules and regulation wherein foreign vessels illegally entering the disputed waters can be boarded, inspected, detained, confiscated, immobilized and expelled, among other punitive actions. Hainan province, which has jurisdiction over Sansha City, is set to implement these rules by January 2013. Sansha City was established in June to administer more than 200 islets, sandbanks, and reefs in Paracel (Xisha), Macclesfield Banki (Zhongsha), and Spratly (Nansha) islands and two million square kilometers of surrounding waters. The waters and islands that cover Sansha City overlap with the territories being claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/51389/china-deploys-oceangoing-patrol-vessel-to-west-philippine-sea---report