By Yan Yan

闫岩

The Coast Guard Law of the People's Republic of China officially came into effect on February 1, drawing much attention in the international community. Some doubt whether the China Coast Guard (CCG) will become the country’s “second navy,” asking on what conditions the maritime division of the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force (PAP) uses force in law enforcement, and questioning if the new law’s provisions on the use of police equipment and weapons comply with the international law. Some have gone so far as to clamor that China’s enaction of the Coast Guard Law risks triggering possible regional tension.

中国《海警法》已于2月1日开始实施，国际社会对此多有关注。其中有人提出一些质疑，比如中国海警会否成为“第二海军”，中国海警海上执法时在什么条件下可以使用武力，以及中国《海警法》关于警械和武器的使用规定是否符合国际法等等。有些舆论甚至故意鼓噪，称中国《海警法》的出台可能引发地区局势紧张。

The CCG is the maritime enforcement service of China that exercises the maritime rights, duties, and obligations endowed by international laws, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It was put under the command of the PAP in 2018. China’s latest Coast Guard Law provides the legal basis for the coast guard service to carry out tasks, specifies the legal properties of CCG as a civil law enforcement division, and stipulates its rights, duties, and obligations, including administration of sea areas under Chinese jurisdiction and international cooperation.

中国海警局是中国行使包括《联合国海洋法公约》在内国际法赋予的海洋权利、责任与义务的海上执法机构，2018年起被明确划归中国人民武装警察部队指挥。这次颁布实施的《海警法》为海警执行任务提供了法律基础，进一步明确了中国海警局作为民事执法机构的法律属性，也厘清了海警的权利、职能与义务，包括对中国管辖海域实施管理并执行国际合作等。

In terms of nature, CCG is both an administrative law enforcement unit and an armed force similar to the maritime enforcement agencies of other countries. For instance, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) is an important part of the US armed forces, and it boasts the largest scale and most advanced weapons and equipment of all maritime enforcement services in the world. Coast guards in Australia, as a maritime police force, is directly commanded by the Australian Defence Force in wartime. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is a standard service agency attached to the Department of Transportation of the Philippines, but it serves as an attached service of the Department of National Defense in wartime. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency(MMEA),formally known as Malaysia Coast Guard, can be integrated under Malaysian Armed Forces command during an emergency, special crisis, or wartime. And the Vietnam Coast Guard is also a branch of Vietnam’s military, the Vietnam People’s Army, serving specific purposes.

从属性上看，中国海警兼具行政执法和武装力量双重属性，与世界许多国家海上执法力量属性相似。例如，美国海岸警卫队是美国武装力量的重要组成部分，也是世界上规模最大、武器装备最先进的海上执法力量;澳大利亚海岸警卫队作为海上警察机构，战时受澳大利亚国防军直接领导;菲律宾海警是隶属于交通运输部的武装和制式部队，战时隶属国防部;马来西亚海事执法局在紧急情况、特殊危机和战争时期受马来西亚武装部队的指挥和控制;越南海警也是一支人民武装力量和国家专职力量。

In terms of function, the maritime enforcement agencies in various countries perform the following duties – maritime security, search and rescue, marine ecology and resource protection, etc. The CCG carries out administrative law enforcement in five areas - the same as its foreign counterparts, namely managing maritime security, combating maritime smuggling, conducting the supervisory inspection of the development and utilization of marine resources, protecting marine ecology and environment, and managing marine fishery operations.

从职能上看，各国海上执法力量的基本职责为海事安全、搜救、海洋生态资源保护等，中国海警的五个行政执法领域——海上治安管理、海上缉私、海洋资源开发利用、海洋生态环境保护和海洋渔业管理，也与世界各国的海上执法力量职能无异。

The provisions in China's Coast Guard Law on the use of force, police equipment, and weapons are consistent with international law rules and within the boundary of current national practices.

中国《海警法》有关武力使用和警械、武器使用的规定，既没有违反国际法规则，也没有超出当前国家实践的现状。

In the South China Sea, for instance, the struggle for fishing resources has been a tipping point of conflicts among various parties, and the conflict between fishing boats and maritime law enforcers poses a serious challenge to maritime security in the region. However, the fact is that the Chinese maritime enforcement service has never used force against foreign fishers that are carrying out normal fishing activities in surrounding waters. When they enforce the law against foreign fishers that are fishing illegally in disputed waters, they also exercise a high level of restraint and adopt only minimal enforcement measures without ever violating the principle of necessity and proportionality on the use of force as stipulated in international law, or threatening fishers from surrounding countries. On the contrary, some countries around the South China Sea have adopted increasingly aggressive means in their maritime law enforcement over recent years.

以南海为例，渔业资源争夺一直是各方矛盾和冲突的引爆点，渔船与海上执法部门的渔业冲突是南海海上安全的严峻挑战。但事实上，中国海上执法力量从未在周边海域对正常作业的别国普通渔民使用武力，即便是在争议海域针对非法捕鱼的别国渔民采取执法活动，也是保持高度克制，仅采取最低限度的执法措施，从未违反国际法中关于武力使用的必要性和成比例原则，也从未危及周边国家渔民生命。相反，一些南海周边国家近年来却采取日益激进的手段进行海上执法。

The use of force in maritime law enforcement is sensitive because it could easily aggravate conflict during the confrontation on site. Some countries in the region have proposed that “the international law prohibits the use of force unless authorized by the UN Security Council and being self-defense operations meeting the principle of proportionality”. These countries are concerned about in which sea areas the CCG will enforce the law because they are worried that the presence of Chinese law enforcement force in disputed waters will consolidate the country’s actual control there.

海上执法活动中的武力使用问题之所以敏感，是由于在现场实际对抗过程中往往容易激化冲突。某些周边国家提出“国际法禁止使用武力，除非联合国安理会授权，并且是符合比例原则的自卫行动”。它们对中国海警执法海域的关切，是担心中国借执法力量在争议海域的存在巩固实际控制。

As a matter of fact, international law doesn’t prohibit the use of force when enforcing the law in disputed waters. The use of force in law enforcement doesn’t mean the “use of force” that the UN Charter asks the member states to refrain from, but refers to the maritime police operations carried out by coastal nations in disputed waters according to their domestic law. The Chinese maritime enforcement service has always exercised goodwill and restraint when performing maritime operations and will not violate the principle of necessity and proportionality in the future. Besides, the Chinese Coast Guard Law has dedicated chapters on supervision and legal liabilities and puts in place such systems as transparent law enforcement, recording of law-enforcing process, and accountability of faults during law enforcement.

实际上，国际法并未禁止在争议海域的执法活动中使用武力。执法行为中的武力使用，并非《联合国宪章》禁止使用的“武力”，而是沿海国依据其国内法在争议海域进行的海上警察行为。中国海上执法力量多年来在海上行动中一直秉持善意、保持克制，未来依然不会违反必要性和成比例原则。另外，《海警法》还明确了监督与法律责任，设置了执法公开、执法过程记录、执法过错责任追究等制度。

Some countries and some media that are in the habit of smearing China should stop practicing “double standards” and viewing China and everything Chinese with biases. On the one hand, before the Coast Guard Law was enacted, they criticized China for lacking legal supervision over its maritime law enforcement; on the other hand, they deliberately distort and misinterpret certain contents in the latest law. Demonizing this law does no good to increasing the mutual trust and law enforcement cooperation between China and relevant countries, nor does that serve regional peace and stability.  

某些国家和习惯抹黑中国的媒体不应总是奉行“双重标准”和戴着有色眼镜看待中国，一方面在《海警法》尚未出台时竭力指责中国海上执法缺少法律监督，另一方面又刻意歪曲、夸张解读中国《海警法》中某些内容。妖魔化《海警法》无助于增进中国与有关国家之间的互信和执法领域的合作，亦于地区和平稳定无益。

Given the increasingly complicated maritime security situation, international cooperation between law enforcement agencies of various countries is an important way to effectively improve maritime governance, mitigate the tension in disputed waters, strengthen crisis management and control, and build mutual trust.

面对日益复杂的海上安全形势，执法机构间的国际合作是有效推进海洋治理的重要途径，也是降低争议海域敏感局势、加强危机管控和建立互信的重要举措。

The latest Coast Guard Law also standardizes the cooperation mechanism between the CCG and foreign maritime enforcement agencies and international organizations by specifying the scope – such as jointly striking crimes on the sea – and cooperation approach. This will undoubtedly promote bilateral or multilateral maritime enforcement cooperation between China and relevant countries and facilitate them in jointly preserving the maritime public security and order.

这次出台的《海警法》也规范了中国海警与外国海上执法机构和国际组织的合作机制，明确了联合打击海上犯罪等合作领域以及合作方式，这无疑将促进中国与有关国家开展双边或多边海上执法领域的合作，携手共同维护海洋公共安全与海上秩序。

Taking the opportunity of China’s implementation of the Coast Guard Law, the international community should walk toward China with goodwill and a positive attitude to advance bilateral or multilateral maritime enforcement cooperation based on law and rules. Relevant parties should work together to establish an international new order of naval cooperation and governance, writing a new chapter in protecting the marine environment, fighting cross-border maritime crimes, and safeguarding maritime security.

国际社会应以中国《海警法》实施为契机，以善意和积极姿态与中国相向而行，推进以法治和规则为基础的双边或多边海上执法合作，携手构建国际海洋合作与治理新秩序，在保护海洋环境、打击海上跨国犯罪、维护海洋安全等方面谱写新的篇章。

(The author is Director of the Research Center of Oceans Law and Policy in the National Institute for the South China Sea Studies(NISCSS).)

（作者是中国南海研究院海洋法律与政策研究所所长）

Editor's note: This article is originally published on huanqiu.com, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.