On January 1, 2014, the government of China's island province, Hainan, enacted new measures requiring all foreign ships to obtain approval from the Chinese government before entering 'maritime areas' within Hainan's claimed jurisdiction. Hainan claims to administer approximately 770,000 square miles of the South China Sea (SCS), including the contested Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, Macclesfield Bank, and Scarborough Reef. This paper discusses China's actual aims and intentions, and the motive for declaring the fishing regulations-greater control over the South China Sea.
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Online resource, PDF version; title from cover (USSC, viewed November 15, 2021).