Japan and the United States hype the use of force clause in China's draft Coast Guard Law Expert: It is pure nonsense

Source: Global Times - Global Network

Regarding the draft "Coast Guard Law" announced by China on the 4th, some Japanese and American media quickly speculated about the provisions allowing the use of weapons. Experts told the Global Times on the 5th that the law enforcement forces of any country enjoy the right to enforce the law in the sea and airspace under their jurisdiction, including the use of force, why does it become a threat theory in China? This rendering is pure nonsense.

On the 4th, the National People's Congress announced the draft coast guard law on its official website, soliciting opinions from the public from now until December 3, and the draft is divided into eleven chapters and a total of 80 articles. The Japan Times reported on the 5th that the draft Coast Guard Law clearly stipulates that when foreign vessels carry out illegal activities in Chinese waters, China allows coast guard personnel to use weapons. The report claims that the regulations could make Japanese vessels sailing on the Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands the target of the provision.

Article 19 of the draft Coast Guard Law stipulates that when national sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction are being illegally infringed upon by foreign organizations or individuals at sea or are facing an imminent danger of unlawful infringement, the Coast Guard agency has the right to take all necessary measures on the spot, including the use of weapons, to stop the infringement and eliminate the danger on the spot in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws and regulations. Chapter VI of the draft specifically provides detailed provisions on "the use of police equipment and weapons", including the circumstances in which hand-held weapons may be used and under which ship-borne or airborne weapons may be used.

When the US "Star-Spangled Banner" reported on the interpretation of the article on the 5th, it said that the United States regularly sends warships into China's Nansha and Paracel Islands for 12 nautical miles for free navigation, which China believes is a serious violation of China's sovereignty and security interests. Commenting on the news on Twitter, Grely, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the United States, said, "If true, this is quite worrying and will lead to an increased likelihood of violence in disputed waters." ”

Tian Shichen, vice president and senior researcher of the Guoguan Think Tank, told the Global Times on the 5th that the law enforcement forces of any country enjoy the right to enforce the law in the sea and airspace under their jurisdiction, including the use of force, as long as the exercise of this power is within the scope of international law or does not violate the international obligations undertaken by the country. The U.S. Coast Guard, the Japan Maritime Protection Agency, and others will enforce the law in the sea and airspace under their jurisdiction, including the use of lethal force under legal conditions. However, for the subject of law enforcement, the weapons used, law enforcement procedures, etc., there needs to be a clear authorization of the law, and the Coast Guard Law is precisely to solve this problem.

Another anonymous expert told the Global Times on the same day that the United States and Japan have relevant laws and regulations. China's promulgation of the Coast Guard Law clarifies the timing, occasions and conditions for the use of force, and it is precisely to strictly regulate the use of force, why it has been questioned, "This is only allowing state officials to set fires and not allowing the people to light lamps." He further explained that "the purpose of the Coast Guard's use of force is to take control measures against suspect ships that have seriously violated the law and disobeyed orders, and as long as the purpose of control is achieved, the use of force can be terminated, following the principle of the use of minimum force, and the use of force in combat is not a concept." The expert believes that this kind of hype is a borrowing of the topic, and nothing is wrong.

Tian Shichen believes that there is no relevant provision in international law on the use of force in the disputed sea area, and both parties to the dispute will consider that the sea area applies to their own laws and act in accordance with their own laws. "But in reality, the parties to the dispute will usually use force with caution so as not to affect the overall picture of the relationship." Specific rules of action require the two sides to explore in continuous practice and reach consensus before the issues in the disputed areas are completely resolved. ”

Tian Shichen said that the root cause of the mistake lies in the US side in enforcing the law on warships that infringe on China's sovereignty and security in the name of freedom of navigation, and the Chinese side naturally has the right to enforce the law according to law. However, international law has some provisions on the manner in which it will be enforced. For example, for foreign warships that violate the laws of the territorial waters of coastal States, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that they can only be allowed to leave. That is to say, the law enforcement forces of coastal States can only force them to disperse, but they cannot directly use force to sink or arrest them. What is inconclusive is what to do if it is allowed to leave it and refuse to implement it, which depends on the specific situation. "Therefore, the analysis and speculation of the provisions on the use of force in China's draft Coast Guard Law is deliberately exaggerating the Chinese threat theory."