Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

An amendment to the implementation of the Fisheries Law of the People's Republic of China by Hainan Province came into effect on January 1. The new measures require foreign fishing vessels to get permission from relevant Chinese authorities before fishing or exploring fishery resources in Hainan's jurisdictional waters. The local legal amendment has, unexpectedly, elicited wide concern from certain countries, in particular claimants of some islands in the South China Sea and the US-led allies.

It should be noted that this is just a technical amendment to China's fisheries law that has been enforced for more than two decades. The amendment was made in an aim to protect fishery resources and marine ecological environment by regulating fishing activities. There are also legal norms for Chinese fishermen, because illegal activities, including overfishing, have jeopardized many rare species and damaged the marine environment.

Given that an incremental number of fishing boats from some countries claiming islands in the South China Sea have repeatedly entered the waters under Hainan's jurisdiction, the amended measures are expected to help prevent their illegal fishing activities.

Although the new regulations are in principle applied to all the territorial waters under China's jurisdiction, we will put more focus in administering the Xisha and Zhongsha Islands and their adjacent waters with our current law-enforcement capacity and technical limitations. It is, for the present stage, a little bit difficult to implement concerned measures in the bitterly contested Nansha Islands.

Nevertheless, some nations have lodged vehement protests about the amendment to China's fisheries law.

The Philippines dismissed the legal adjustment as being dangerous to "peace and stability" and Vietnam issued a written statement, saying that "All foreign activities at these areas without Vietnam's acceptance are illegal and groundless."

It is no wonder that Manila would give such a strong reaction in that it had submitted a case to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea over its territorial disputes with China. As a staunch ally of Washington, Manila will undoubtedly hype Beijing's every move regarding the South China Sea.

But it was unexpected that Hanoi also joined this camp. Vietnam has long been provoking ripples over the swathe of the islands it claims and sparing no effort in pushing the internationalization of the territorial row. Playing the victim in the enduring conundrum is an old trick of Vietnam's.

Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang criticized China's nine-dashed line on a visit to Washington in July 2013. In addition, Vietnam gave quiet support to Manila in the latter's arbitration case.

It is fair to say that Vietnam is now sitting on the fence to see what will happen to the resources-rich South China Sea. And its inclination will likely be decided by the development of its relations with China, the verdict of the arbitration tribunal on Manila's claims, and how much assistance Washington will provide. Still, weighing pros and cons, Hanoi will finally choose the direction that will benefit itself most.

Apart from such claimants, non-claimants including the US and Japan also reproached the new fishing regulations of Hainan Province. US State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki dismissed the rule as "a provocative and potentially dangerous act" in a regular briefing recently.

The US somewhat overreacted to a local fishing law amendment. Washington is hyping the "South China Sea threat" in fear of a potential air defense identification zone over this strategically crucial linchpin. Therefore, it must clamp down on the situation in the West Pacific to ensure its "pivot to Asia" policy will produce results.

Japan's apprehension is easy to spot, because it could utilize China's regulations in the sensitive area as an excuse to tighten its military grip and eventually rewrite its pacifist constitution.

Confronted with all these groundless "accusations" with ulterior motives, China should calmly continue with its own legislative steps and properly manage territorial disputes.

The article was compiled by Global Times reporter Wang Xiaonan, based on an interview with Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn