Update | Enforcement of fishing rules in South China Sea thrown in doubt
After Hainan rolls out tough new regulations in South China Sea, official says delays in forming centralised coastguard will hinder effectiveness
Beijing could struggle to enforce new fishing rules in the South China Sea because of difficulties in establishing a centralised coastguard.
Lin Yun, director of legal affairs for the Hainan Department of Ocean and Fisheries, said preparations to reform the coastguard were only half completed.
And the efforts are now running six months past the deadline set by Beijing - with progress still reported as slow.
Rules rolled out by the Hainan legislature, which took effect on January 1, require foreign fishing boats to obtain advance approval from the province before they can operate in the vast area of the sea claimed by China.
Xinhua reported that any foreign fishing vessel that enters the waters without permission will be expelled and have its catch confiscated, with fines of 500,000 yuan (HK$635,000).
The plan to integrate four sprawling maritime law enforcement entities into a unified coastguard were announced last March and state media reported that the coastguard went into operation in June.
But Lin said the efforts to make the coastguard more efficient and responsive have been held back by red tape. There were also competing interests among the bureaucracies responsible for patrolling the waters.