The Implementation, Influence and Countermeasures of China’s Coast Guard Law

To expedite the reform of China’s marine management institutions and clarify the responsibilities, tasks, requirements, behaviors, and other normative procedures concerning the China Coast Guard, China has promulgated the Coast Guard Law. The adoption and implementation of the Coast Guard Law are of great significance to China’s maritime law and can greatly improve and modernize the system and capabilities of China’s maritime governance. However, the international society, especially the United States and Japan, have concerns and misjudgments that some provisions of the Law may be against international law, for example, provisions concerning the scope of the “waters under the jurisdiction of China,” the conditions for the “use of weapons,” the procedures for “performing defense operations,” and the attributions of the “law enforcement ships.” To alleviate such concerns and eliminate the misunderstandings, China needs to make a systematic interpretation of the Coast Guard Law in accordance with international law. China also needs to analyze and improve domestic maritime laws, speed up negotiations with other States over maritime disputes, and make more efforts and achievements in the communication and coordination with foreign maritime law enforcement agencies. Only in this way can China better achieve the goals stipulated in the Coast Guard Law.