South China Sea law enforcement ship unveiled as Beijing seeks to tighten control over disputed waters

The vessel will be patrolling and supervising hundreds of islands in the area where many countries have overlapping claims

The ship’s builder says it will be used to ‘safeguard China’s maritime rights and interests, especially sovereignty’

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The ship will patrol the disputed waters. Photo: Handout

Published: 6:00am, 29 Jul 2022

China said it has built a law enforcement ship for the South China Sea as Beijing seeks to tighten its grip on the hotly contested waters.

The vessel was handed over to law enforcement agencies responsible for administering the waters on Wednesday, its constructor Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group announced on its website.

It said the ship, the Sansha Zhi Fa 101, is equipped with “specialised law enforcement equipment and a helicopter landing platform” and will be mainly responsible for patrolling and supervising waters under the jurisdiction of Sansha city.

The statement said it will be “of great significance in safeguarding China’s maritime rights and interests, especially sovereignty”.

Sansha is an administrative unit created as a prefecture level city in 2012 to administer a sparsely populated group of 260 islands and reefs in the Paracel Islands and Macclesfield Bank – an area also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan – as well as in the resource-rich Spratly Islands, where there are overlapping claims from Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

Beijing has steadily been improving its infrastructure facilities in the South China Sea as part of its efforts to strengthen its control over the area.

Last week, Beijing said it had stationed a flying squadron as well as maritime rescue and administration staff on the Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief reefs, the three biggest man-made islands in the Spratlys to improve its search and rescue operations.,