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China to Introduce Compensation for Maritime Development
China is to introduce a compensation system on the use of territorial waters and maritime resources, according to a law draft.
The draft on the management of using maritime areas was submitted Tuesday to a meeting of China's National People's Congress Standing Committee for deliberation.
According to the draft, all individuals and units who use the maritime areas of the country should pay a certain amount of money to the central government as compensation.
China has 380,000 square kilometers of territorial waters and 32,000 kilometers of coastline. Over the past two decades, the output of its maritime industries increased 60 times to 365.1 billion yuan (44 billion U.S. dollars).
However, the lack of management of maritime areas and the compensation system to be introduced has given rise to illegal use and cultivation of coastal and offshore areas. As a result, the maritime resources has degraded and the maritime environment deteriorated.
In his explanation to the meeting on the law draft, Minister of Land and Resources Tian Fengshan said these problems have greatly affected the rational and sustainable development of maritime resources.
He said that the introduction of a compensation system for using maritime resources in territorial waters is a common practice of many coastal countries. The system will not only help realize the economic meaning of the government's ownership of maritime areas, but also reduce the waste of resources and losses of state-owned properties in the process of maritime development.
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