China's top legislature voted to adopt the country's first national law
on the protection and exploitation of the country's land-border areas, which
aims to better maintain national security and manage border-related matters at
the legal level amid regional tensions, including the frictions with India, the
Global Times reported Sunday.
The Land Border Law, approved at the closing
meeting of a legislative session of the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress on Saturday, stipulates that "the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of the People's Republic of China are sacred and
inviolable," the Xinhua reported.
The state
shall take measures to safeguard territorial integrity and land boundaries and
guard against and combat any act that undermines territorial sovereignty and
land boundaries, it further said.
"The state shall take measures to strengthen border defense, support
economic and social development as well as opening-up in border areas, improve
public services and infrastructure in such areas, encourage and support
people's life and work there, and promote coordination between border defense
and social, economic development in border areas," it says.
It may be pointed out that China is yet to finalize the border agreements with India and Bhutan, while Beijing has already resolved boundary disputes with 12 other neighbors. China has a land border of more than 22,000 kilometers and a coastline of over 18,000 kilometers.
China has begun constructing a number of villages close to the border with proper infrastructure in Tibet which have become an essential and effective part of border defense, state-run Global Times reported on October 19.
The number of well-off, high-standard border villages with good roads stood at over 600 by the end of 2020, according to a Xinhua report. At least 130 border roads have been newly built, with a total length of 3,080 km, it said.
Chinese Experts
The enactment of the Land
Border Law has filled the legal gap at the national level in dealing with
border issues, said Chinese legal experts. It is in line with the international
legislative practice, the GT quoted Chinese experts as saying.
Due to historical reasons, disputes and
ambiguities still exist in land-border delineations at China-India borders and
other border areas, Wang Xu, deputy dean of the School of Law under Renmin University
of China, told the Global Times.
India has repeatedly tried to gain from
provoking the border issue with China since the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020. Wang believes that the law will
serve as a legal guideline for China in coping with all possible land-border
disputes, including the current specific territorial conflicts at China-India
borders.
"It provides an abundant legal foundation
for China in dealing with border disputes with involved neighbors," Wang
said.
Territorial integrity
It surpasses most of countries in the number of neighboring
countries, the length of land border, and the complexity of maritime security,
the Global Times said, adding: "Therefore, it is a daunting task for China to
safeguard its territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests, and
national unity, according to a national defense white paper released by the
State Council Information Office of China in 2019."
China has been actively tackling boundary issues
with related countries on the basis of good-neighborliness and peaceful
coexistence, the GT said. It signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a Three-Step Roadmap with Bhutan
earlier this month, which is the result of years of joint efforts and sincere
cooperation between the two sides, and will reduce the risks on the eastern
China-India border, the GT quoted observers as saying.
Taking effect from January 1, 2022, the law also
regulates that national and regional governments are obligated to take measures
to protect the stability of cross-border rivers and lakes, and rationally use
the water [resources] there.
The law reiterates the friendly consultation and
joint development [principles] that China adheres to on water resources of
cross-border rivers, said Qian Feng, director of the research department at the
National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University.
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