China has enacted a new law that spells out the operational authority of the China Coast Guard in the country's surrounding waters. If a foreign ship in China's territorial waters does not follow the coast guard's orders, authorities are now permitted to use weapons. With this new law in place, governments in Asia and beyond must be vigilant about the risk of unforeseen contingencies occurring around the Senkaku Islands -- which China claims and calls the Diaoyu -- and in the South China Sea.
Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, the coast guard has been incorporated into the People's Armed Police and placed under the command of the military. As the coast guard receives orders from the Central Military Commission -- the highest decision-making body in China's armed forces -- governments elsewhere should note that it is a quasi-military organization.
