China’s Xi tells coast guard to enforce maritime law.

According to reports published by official media on Friday, President Xi Jinping of China stated that the country’s coast guard must implement maritime law and crack down on “criminal activities” to protect China’s territorial sovereignty.

The Xinhua news agency reported that Xi made these remarks when he was inspecting the command headquarters of the China Coast Guard for the East China Sea region and the performance of the Coast Guard’s ships through video.

“It is necessary to establish and improve the coordination and cooperation mechanism of maritime law enforcement and severely crack down on illegal and criminal activities at sea,” stated President Xi.

The president further stated that it is imperative to “pragmatically carry out exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries in maritime law enforcement, and actively participate in international and regional maritime governance.”

In the South China Sea, the Chinese coast guard has been involved in many confrontations with vessels belonging to the Philippines in seas considered to be contested territorial waters.

Additionally, the person in charge of China’s government stated that it was essential to ensure China’s maritime industry continued flourishing.