CHINA defended Friday its new fishing restrictions in disputed waters in the South China Sea against criticism from the United States, saying the rules were in accordance with international law.

    The regulation, approved by the provincial legislature of Hainan on Nov. 29, took effect Jan. 1.

    It requires foreign fishing boats and foreigners to seek permission from relevant departments under the State Council to fish or carry out surveys on fisheries resources within waters administered by the southernmost island province.

    Hainan, which administers 2 million square km of water, said the new rule is to protect local fisheries resources.

    Washington called the fishing rules “provocative and potentially dangerous,” prompting a rebuttal from China’s foreign ministry Friday.

    Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the government “has the right and responsibility to regulate the relevant islands and reefs as well as non-biological resources” according to international and domestic law.

    “For more than 30 years, China’s relevant fisheries laws and regulations have been consistently implemented in a normal way, and have never caused any tension,” Hua said at a daily news briefing.

    “If someone feels the need to say that technical amendments to local fisheries regulations implemented many years ago will cause tensions in the region and pose a threat to regional stability, then I can only say that if this does not stem from a lack of basic common sense, then it must be due to an ulterior motive.”

    The news came into focus after foreign media highlighted it Wednesday.

    The reports described the regulation as akin to Beijing’s late November announcement of its Air Defense Identification Zone, which requires foreign planes to notify the Chinese Government of flights through the zone. The area covers China’s Diaoyu Islands.

    The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday that Manila is checking the information.

    “We are verifying the news with our embassies in Beijing and Hanoi,” said Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez.

    Peter Paul Galvez, a Philippine defense department spokesman, told Reuters that Manila was ready to enforce fishing rules in the country’s exclusive economic zone, which include regulations on the type of fish that can be caught.

    A government-affiliated fishing organization in Vietnam criticized the new rules. “This action from China will directly affect Vietnamese fishermen, damage their work, their livelihoods and impact their families,” said Vo Van Trac, vice chairman of the body.

    Japan on Saturday joined the United States in criticizing China’s new fishing restrictions, saying the curbs, coupled with the launch last year of the air defence zone, had left the international community “jittery.”

    Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera made the comment after observing the Japanese Self-Defense Forces’ elite airborne brigade conducting airdrop drills designed to hone their skills to defend and retake remote islands.

    After China’s announcement late last year of the air defense identification zone in the East China Sea, which drew sharp criticism from Washington, the fishing rules add another irritant to Sino-U.S. ties.

    “China has not offered any explanation or basis under international law for these extensive maritime claims,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a news briefing Thursday.

    “Our long-standing position has been that all concerned parties should avoid any unilateral action that raises tensions and undermines the prospects for a diplomatic or other peaceful resolution of differences.”

    The U.S. State Department spokeswoman gave no indication of any possible U.S. response to the fishing zone.

    Hainan, which juts into the South China Sea from China’s southern tip, is responsible for administering the myriad islets and atolls in the sea. The province governs 2 million square km of water, according to local government data issued in 2011. The South China Sea is an estimated 3.5 million square km in size.

    The province is also home to Chinese naval facilities that include a dock for the country’s only aircraft carrier and a base for attack submarines.

    Chen Qinghong, a researcher on Philippine studies with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said, “the regulation is just a step for Hainan to complete local fisheries regulations and standardize law enforcement.”

    “It should not be interpreted as Beijing adopting a tougher stance in pushing forward territorial claims. In my opinion, it has been sensationalized by media.”

    Wang Hanling, an expert on maritime law with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the new rule targets severe infringement by foreign fishing vessels.

    He said the new rule was also based on China’s increasing capability to protect its maritime interests.

    “It is not targeting certain countries. Due to various reasons, China has not been strict in maritime administration. Now we are making more efforts, not just in the South China Sea, but also in other directions such as the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea.”

    Despite the new rule, Beijing will likely seek to avoid increasing frictions by enforcing them too zealously, City University of Hong Kong China politics expert Joseph Cheng told the AP.

    China’s fisheries law allows confiscation of catches and fishing equipment as well as fines of up to 500,000 yuan (US$83,000) for violators. Those who commit crimes will be investigated for criminal responsibility.

    Wu Shicun, head of Hainan’s foreign affairs office until last May, told Reuters that offending foreign fishing vessels would be expelled if they are in waters around Hainan and the disputed Xisha Islands.

    “If we can’t expel them, then we’ll go on board to make checks to see whether there’s any illegal fishing,” said Wu, now president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, a thinktank that advises the government on policy on the South China Sea. “We’ll confiscate (your) fishing gear, detain the vessel and fine (you). The most serious fine is 500,000 yuan.”

    (SD-Agencies)