BEIJING -- The administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping is working on a law revision that would allow the China Coast Guard -- which has repeatedly intruded into the Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture -- to conduct operations under wartime powers.
It is inevitable that the militaristic nature of the coast guard, which has served as a de facto vanguard of the Chinese navy, will be further strengthened, drawing vigilance from neighboring countries.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is currently working on the revision of a law concerning the People's Armed Police Force (PAP), which stipulates the duties and powers held by the police. The PAP has the China Coast Guard under their wing. The new bill stipulates a new mission for the PAP to "carry out various wartime duties."
Additionally, during wartime, the PAP will either be commanded directly by either the Central Military Commission, headed by President Xi Jinping, or by one of China's five Theater Commands. This provision also applies to the China Coast Guard.
The PAP is an armed organization that has been under the direct control of the Central Military Commission since 2018, and in July of the same year, incorporated the China Coast Guard under its sphere of influence.
In the event China declares the area around the Senkaku Islands to have entered a time of war, the China Coast Guard will be placed under the command of the Eastern Theater Command, which has jurisdiction over the East China Sea, once the bill passes the Standing Committee. A diplomatic source in Beijing points out that joint operations between the coast guard and naval vessels, and other activities will then become "legal. " This law revision means that China's domestic law will clarify the military role of the coast guard.
As a rear admiral has already been appointed to the top post of the coast guard, the appointment was believed to be aimed at strengthening the cooperation with the Chinese navy.
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