A new law is to permit China’s coast guards to fire at vessels within its “jurisdictional waters”. This steps up Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea. The law bolsters China’s bullying. “Jurisdictional waters” encroach Southeast Asian states’ exclusive economic zones that China’s communist rulers illegally claim. The law exposes China’s duplicity as well. Beijing is in talks with ASEAN neighbors for a Code of Conduct in the SCS. Such CoC will not be a pact of equals. By escalating armed aggression, it is telling small neighbors it wants only docility from them.

Bondoc, J. (2020, November 11). Law lets China gunboats fire at ships in SCS. The Philippine Star, p. 7.