US calls China fishing curbs “provocative”

The US State Department on Thursday called China’s new fishing restrictions in the disputed South China Sea “provocative and potentially dangerous,” Reuters reported. The legislature of Hainan province implemented rules on Jan 1 stating that foreign fishing vessels must obtain approval to enter waters under its jurisdiction. Beijing claims almost the entire oil- and gas-rich South China Sea, rejecting rival claims to parts of it from the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam. The new fishing rule follows China’s creation of an air defense identification zone in late November above the East China Sea.