China Coast Guard empowered to detain 'trespassers' in South China Sea —report

China has issued a regulation empowering its coast guard to detain foreigners trespassing in the South China Sea following the Philippine civilian mission to the West Philippine Sea (WPS) that ended on Friday.

The China Coast Guard (CCG) can detain trespassers without trial, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday, citing a regulatory document of Beijing set to take effect in June.

"Foreigners suspected of illegally passing China's borders can be held for up to 60 days," according to the media report.

GMA News Online has sought comment from the Chinese Embassy in Manila about the regulation but it has yet to respond as of posting time.

China's expansive claims over most of the South China Sea overlap with the West Philippine Sea, including the Scarborough Shoal which the Philippine civilian mission led by the Atin Ito coalition sought to reach.

Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc and Panatag Shoal, is located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales and within the Philippines' 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

In an interview on Friday, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela called China's directive "illegal."

"These are things na masasabi na nating iligal na action na naman ng China. The mere fact that they claim full sovereignty over our own exclusive economic zone at ang jina-justify lang naman nila is yung imaginary nine-dash line nila," he told reporters.

(These are things that we can say are illegal actions again by China. The mere fact that they claim full sovereignty over our own exclusive economic zone and the only thing they justify is their imaginary nine-dash line.)

Other countries

Tarriela said he does not think China is serious in arresting civilians in the area because many affected countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia would also criticize its actions.

Aside from this, Tarriela said that it can be considered harassment if China arrests civilians from other countries.

"Itong mga mga attempt na panghuhuli ng mga mangingisda sa ating mismong EEZ can be considered as just mere harassment because based on international law and UNCLOS we have sovereign rights over these waters," he said, referring to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

(These attempts to arrest fishermen within our own EEZ can be considered as just mere harassment because based on international law and UNCLOS, we have sovereign rights over these waters.)

"China does have not those sovereign rights to justify the arrest na sinasabi nila sa ating mga mangingisdang Pilipino," he added.

"(China does not have those sovereign rights to justify the supposed arrest of our Filipino fishermen.)

The report on China's regulation to arrest civilians in the South China Sea came out after the voyage of the 100-boat Philippine civilian flotilla to the WPS, which its organizers had described as "mission accomplished."

Chinese vessels blockaded Scarborough Shoal ahead of the civilian mission.

'Scare' tactic

According to Tarriela, China's latest move is just a scare tactic to discourage such civilian-led missions in the area.

"Isa na naman uling pananakot ito ng Chinese government to discourage these types of activities ng civil society. Ang ginagawa nilang 'yan para huwag na sigurong mag-take three si [Atin Ito Coalition co-convenor and Akbayan president Rafaela David] ng another Atin Ito convoy," he said.

(This is another threat by the Chinese government to discourage these types of activities of civil society. They are doing that so [Atin Ito Coalition co-convenor and Akbayan president Rafaela David] will not take another Atin Ito convoy.)

House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list lawmaker France Castro said ''China has no right to impose such a regulation.''

''This is highly condemnable and is not even legal,'' she said. ''If any country has a right to arrest foreigners, it is the Philippines.''

Senator Jinggoy Estrada said he was waiting for the Department of Foreign Affairs to confirm if they had received any official documents on the matter.

''Nonetheless, we have taken note of this matter,'' he said.

''The Philippines remains committed to upholding our rights and interests in the West Philippine Sea. We hope China will likewise respect the rights of other nations operating in these waters. We encourage all parties to exercise restraint and seek peaceful solutions to disputes,'' he added.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Its territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in The Hague ruled that China's claims over the South China Sea have no legal basis, a decision that Beijing does not recognize. — with Llanesca Panti/VDV/VBL, GMA Integrated News