The Hainan fisheries law is only one of the unilateral measures by China to force a change in the regional status quo in order to advance its nine-dash line position of undisputed sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea. The nine-dash line claim is in gross violation of international law. It is the core issue that must be singularly and fully addressed.

Hainan fisheries rules. (2014, January 21). Panay News, p. 10.