Beijing 21 Feb (ANA) - Tensions are set to soar in the south and east China seas as Beijing mulls a ban on foreign submarines from what it argues are its territorial waters. An international court of arbitration last year rejected Beijing’s assertion that the vast swath of water between Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines is its traditional national territory. China has been controversially building a string of artificial island fortresses to enforce its ownership over the disputed waterways and the vital sea lanes and resources they contain. The United States maintains the south and east China seas are international waters and has repeatedly demonstrated it wishes to maintain what it calls ‘freedom of navigation’ in the contested area. Now a report in Chinese state-owned media says Beijing is in the process of reviewing its 1984 Maritime Traffic Safety Law. The draft proposal will allow the People’s Liberation Army Navy and coast guard forces to prevent designated “safety offenders” from operating in Chinese waters — including both national waters and its exclusive economic zone.

Surprisingly, it singles out ‘submersibles’. Under the new law, foreign ships violating the laws would be ‘expelled’ from Chinese waters. Beijing is nearing completion of its chain of artificial island fortresses through the disputed Parcel Islands, Spratley Islands and Scarborough Shoals. “Beijing is seeking to improve its management of maritime security by adding new operational details into law, especially details related to growing threats from foreign close-in surveillance,” Lin Yongxin, a senior researcher from the government-affiliated National Institute on South China Sea Studies, told the South China Morning Post.(ANA)

FA/ANA/21 February 2017---