On Sunday, a US carrier strike group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt entered the South China Sea for “routine operations.” Earlier, Japan issued a rebuke of China’s claims in the strategic body of water. The Pentagon reciprocated by promising to protect the Senkakus – the East China Sea islands controlled by Tokyo but also claimed by Beijing.

The National People’s Congress Standing Committee – China’s top legislative body, has given the Coast Guard the authority to use “any means necessary,” including firing on foreign ships, to protect areas where China claims jurisdiction, the South China Morning Post has reported, citing the text of the document.

The legislation, passed Friday, also reportedly allows Coast Guard forces to launch pre-emptive attacks on foreign ships without prior warning if commanders deem such a step to be necessary, and includes a provision under which Coast Guard personnel can board and inspect foreign vessels. It also allows Coast Guard forces to destroy structures belonging to other countries built in areas claimed by China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that the law is in line with international practices, adding that Beijing “will remain committed to upholding peace and stability in the sea.”

Beijing claims control of wide swathes of the South China Sea – a strategic maritime area that serves as a key passage for international shipping and is a major source of untapped fishing and hydrocarbon resources. Parts of the body of water are also claimed by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan. The US, which is not a claimant in the dispute, began carrying out "freedom of navigation" missions in the region in the early 2010s, after then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton branded the body of water a "matter of US national interest." Beijing has repeatedly criticised US "meddling" in the region, and demanded that the region’s nations be allowed to sort out the dispute independently.

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