'A PROVOCATIVE ACT' | China 'requires' foreign fishers to seek permission to enter West PH Sea

From InterAksyon (Jan 10): 'A PROVOCATIVE ACT' | China 'requires' foreign fishers to seek permission to enter West PH Sea



A handout photo shows two Chinese surveillance ships which sailed between a Philippines warship and eight Chinese fishing boats to prevent the arrest of any fishermen in the Scarborough Shoal, a small group of rocky formations whose sovereignty is contested by the Philippines and China, in the South China Sea, about 124 nautical miles off the main island of Luzon April 10, 2012. REUTERS/Philippine Army Handout

The United States on Thursday called new Chinese fishing restrictions in disputed waters in the South China Sea "a provocative and potentially dangerous act."

The legislature of China's Hainan province approved rules in November that took effect on January 1 requiring foreign fishing vessels to obtain approval to enter waters under its jurisdiction.

"The passing of these restrictions on other countries' fishing activities in disputed portions of the South China Sea is a provocative and potentially dangerous act," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a news briefing.

"China has not offered any explanation or basis under international law for these extensive maritime claims."

Earlier, the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it was looking into reports of the new Chinese regulation. "We are verifying the news with our embassies in Beijing and Hanoi," Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a text message on Wednesday.

The new regulation came after China announced an air defense zone over a group of islands it is disputing with Japan in the East China Sea, which triggered protests from the United States, Japan and the Philippines.

Under the regulation, foreign vessels entering the waters, which was declared by China as part of Hainan’s administrative maritime zone, are required to seek approval from Chinese authorities.

Competing claims to the South China Sea, a strategic waterway believed to be sitting atop huge gas and oil deposits, have sparked occasional violence and now regarded as a potential regional flashpoint for armed conflict.

Manila has adopted the name West Philippine Sea for parts of the South China Sea that are within its exclusive economic zone.

China’s persistent incursions and massive claim to the waters has prompted the Philippines to challenge Beijing’s assertion before a United Nations-linked international tribunal in The Hague, The Netherlands.

China refused to join the arbitration, saying the Philippine case is groundless and carries unacceptable allegations.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/78391/a-provocative-act--china-requires-foreign-fishers-to-seek-permission-to-enter-west-ph-sea