The Court regulation followed assertions by the Chinese military to protect the country’s maritime rights and interests in the backdrop of increasing tensions over the SCS after an global tribunal struck down Beijing’s claims.
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The new regulations outline penalties for both Chinese and “foreign” fishermen operating “illegally” in Chinese waters, including the country’s “exclusive economic zone”, a 200-nautical mile region surrounding a country’s territory.
Davis warned that the direction could mean Filipino fishermen operating in waters the United Nations tribunal ruled belong to the Philippines could be apprehended by Chinese vessels and be “prosecuted in direct contradiction of the (Hague) ruling”.
Michael C. Davis, a law professor at Hong Kong University, told CNN the supreme court’s statement was “worrisome”.
These remarks came after a series of tense situation in the South China Sea, and after last month’s decision of the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration in favor of the Philippines in a maritime dispute.
The regulation states that those who engage in illegal hunting or fishing in China’s waters will be pursued for criminal liability.
“The website is founded with the aim of positively publicising our policies, claims, historical proof, legal basis and worldwide cooperation while serving as a reliable channel for domestic and overseas government departments, research groups and individuals to learn about the South China Sea”, SOA spokesperson Shi Qingfeng said.
China’s top court did not directly reference the Hague ruling, but said that “judicial power is an important component of national sovereignty”.
It stated that as much as 30 percent of the world’s total maritime trade transit was made through the South China Sea each year.
China has launched an official South China Sea website, marking the country’s latest move to defend its sovereignty over the islands and reefs in the disputed waters.
“It has nothing to do with the tribunal ruling”, he added.
The worldwide community has rejected China’s claims for years and officially dismissed them via arbitral tribunal last month. The country has asked the Philippines to solve the territorial issue bilaterally.
Since then, China has routinely dispatched coast guard vessels and patrols planes to the area and a Chinese navy warship recently entered a strip of water just outside Japanese-claimed waters in the area.
But Sino-US relations expert Shen Dingli of Fudan University in Shanghai said the possibility is low.
USA forces have been conducting multilateral military exercises with foreign navies in the region angering China.
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China is finding itself falling into a strategic nightmare with the first sign of a Washington-Tokyo-Seoul military alliance at its doorstep after South Korea hinted it would share missile intelligence with Japan, analysts say.
