Full coverage: The South China Sea Issue

China’s Supreme People’s Court has issued a new set of regulations to clarify China’s jurisdiction over its territorial seas. It comes into effect Tuesday.

It states that China’s jurisdictional seas include not only inland waters and territorial seas, but also contiguous zones, exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.

The new law also states that Chinese citizens or foreigners will face criminal prosecution if they engage in illegal hunting or fishing, or killing endangered wildlife in China’s jurisdictional seas.

It also applies to Chinese citizens or organizations engaged in fishing in fishing zones or on the open sea under co-management between China and other countries.