South China Sea: Beijing vows to prosecute 'trespassers'

[Valin]

CNN:

James Griffiths

Tue August 2, 2016

 

Hong Kong (CNN)China has sent a clear warning to foreigners who enter contested areas of the South China Sea -- stay away or you'll be prosecuted.

 

The warning came in a detailed explanation of last month's Hague ruling, which found that China's territorial claims in region have "no legal basis" under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, including islands more than 800 miles (1,200 kilometers) from the Chinese mainland, despite objections from neighbors including the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam.

On Tuesday, the Chinese Supreme People's Court issued a regulation on judicial interpretation saying there was a "clear legal basis for China to safeguard maritime order, marine safety and interests, and to exercise integrated management over the country's jurisdictional seas."

Michael C. Davis, a law professor at Hong Kong University, told CNN the supreme court's statement was "worrisome."

(Snip)