China to consolidate maritime security agencies under one body
Move will better safeguard China's rights in territorial disputes with neighbours, NPC told
China has announced plans to bring its patchwork of maritime law enforcement agencies together under a single body amid a series of tense territorial disputes with neighbouring countries.
The National Oceanic Administration (NOA), which already oversees marine surveillance, will also take over the Public Security Ministry's coastguard patrols, the Agriculture Ministry's fisheries patrols and the General Administration of Customs' anti-smuggling efforts.
Ma Kai, the secretary general of the State Council, told the National People's Congress yesterday that having coastal security forces scattered across several agencies was inadequate. He said the consolidation would better "safeguard the country's maritime rights".
A consultative body, the National Oceanic Commission, would be established to help formulate strategies for developing maritime resources.
The restructuring follows months of angry exchanges between Beijing, Tokyo, Manila and other neighbours over overlapping land claims in the East and South China seas. The dispute with Japan in particular has stirred concerns about a possible military confrontation, as both nations are conducting rival boat patrols around the Diaoyu, or Senkaku, islands in the East China Sea and have even scrambled fighter jets.
Lands and Resources Minister Xu Shaoshi, whose agency oversees the NOA, said the restructuring would help China improve efforts to protect its sovereign territory. He declined to say when the plan would be fully implemented.