China to send more ships to assert S.China Sea claim

**xrough** · 19th March 2009 11:11

China to send more ships to assert S.China Sea claim

BEIJING – China may convert more navy ships into fishery vessels to patrol the South China Sea, the China Daily reported, as Beijing seeks to extend its reach over resource-rich islands that straddle key Asian shipping lanes.

"China will make the best use of its (retired) naval ships and may also build more fishery patrol ships, depending on the need," Wu Zhuang, director of the Administration of Fishery and Fishing Harbor Supervision of the South China Sea, told the newspaper.

China earlier this week sent its largest fishery patrol ship, Yuzheng 311, to the waters around the Spratley Islands, a cluster of islets and atolls that lie north of Borneo island and are thought to have significant oil and gas deposits.

"Faced with a growing amount of illegal fishing and other countries' unfounded territorial claims of islands in China's exclusive economic zone, it has become necessary to step up the fishery administration's patrols to protect China's rights and interests," the China Daily quoted Wu as saying.

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, nations have sovereignty over waters extending a maximum 12 nautical miles off their coasts, including offshore islands, and exclusive economic zones extending 200 nautical miles.

The Philippines passed a law last week laying claim to part of the Spratlys. Malaysia's Prime Minister on March 5 landed on Swallow Reef and Ardasier Reef, also in the Spratly archipelago, to assert his country's claim to those reefs.

Immediately prior to the Yuzheng 311 mission, the United States assigned an escort to its naval survey vessel Impeccable, which was harassed by five Chinese boats last week in waters that China claims as its exclusive economic zone.

On Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters he did not believe that the incident showed Beijing wanted to force the U.S. Pacific fleet from the region, which contains some of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

In a sign of China's growing global clout, Beijing in December sent three naval vessels to help tackle piracy off Somalia in the country's biggest blue water operation outside of the region.

Beijing's opaque but quickening military build-up has contributed to a sense of unease in parts of Asia, especially Taiwan, the self-ruled island China claims as its own and has vowed to bring under mainland control, by force if necessary.

The Spratlys are claimed in full or part by China, as well as Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

**Marcurix** · 2nd April 2009 22:25

Well it wont end well either way.

**Neo_Arch** · 3rd April 2009 09:24

The would provoke other countries in the region to increase the patrolling of their ships in the region to support their claims raising tensions.

**Merlin** · 3rd April 2009 10:06

Originally Posted by xrough

... The Philippines passed a law last week laying claim to part of the Spratlys. ....

It is silly of Philippines to pass this law laying claim.

It often happens in the past that countries laying claim, like Malaysia send vessels over. But it is this unilateral action by Philippines that triggers China to sent over their fishery petrol vessel.

**cr9527** · 20th April 2009 08:39

UN's EEZ convention

1. In the exclusive economic zone, the coastal State has:

(a) sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds;

(b) jurisdiction as provided for in the relevant provisions of this Convention with regard to:

(i) the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations and structures;

(ii) marine scientific research;

(iii) the protection and preservation of the marine environment;

(c) other rights and duties provided for in this Convention.

2. In exercising its rights and performing its duties under this Convention in the exclusive economic zone, the coastal State shall have due regard to the rights and duties of other States and shall act in a manner compatible with the provisions of this Convention.

3. The rights set out in this article with respect to the seabed and subsoil shall be exercised in accordance with Part VI.

The exclusive economic zone shall not extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.

1. In the exclusive economic zone, all States, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy, subject to the relevant provisions of this Convention, the freedoms referred to in article 87 of navigation and overflight and of the laying of submarine cables and pipelines, and other internationally lawful uses of the sea related to these freedoms, such as those associated with the operation of ships, aircraft and submarine cables and pipelines, and compatible with the other provisions of this Convention.

2. Articles 88 to 115 and other pertinent rules of international law apply to the exclusive economic zone in so far as they are not incompatible with this Part.

3. In exercising their rights and performing their duties under this Convention in the exclusive economic zone, States shall have due regard to the rights and duties of the coastal State and shall comply with the laws and regulations adopted by the coastal State in accordance with the provisions of this Convention and other rules of international law in so far as they are not incompatible with this Part

With all due respects, and sorry for reviving this thread, but doesn't the EEZ only reflect the ownership of Resources? and has virtually nothing to do with Foreign surveillance, and data collection?

Either way, was China right for "Harassing" US ship, EVEN if the ship was operating illegally?

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