China’s top government body adopted a first draft of a new national security law Wednesday in a move that will likely ramp up Beijing’s ambitions in the already tense waters of the South China Sea. The law defines issues in cyberspace, outer space, the deep sea, polar regions and, perhaps most urgently, the South China Sea, as areas China has the right to defend.
The newly drafted law was voted on Wednesday in a meeting in Beijing by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee and provides a framework for Chinese authorities to establish “a coordinated, efficient” crisis management system in all security sectors. Zheng Shu’na, a representative from the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee told reporters in a press conference that the new law was a “condition in which a country’s government, sovereignty, unification, territorial integrity, well-being of its people, sustainable development of its economy and society.” Zheng also emphasized the importance of maintaining security in physical spaces, namely the country’s claims in the disputed South China Sea territories.