China Coast Guard Law 2021

The China Coast Guard Law, passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on 22 January 2021 and effective 1 February 2021, authorizes the China Coast Guard to use weapons against foreign vessels in waters China claims as under its jurisdiction. Its provisions on demolishing foreign structures, boarding and inspecting vessels, and establishing temporary exclusion zones drew protests from neighboring states because China’s claimed waters in the South and East China Seas overlap areas other states regard as their EEZ or as high seas under UNCLOS.