This is probably good news:
The restructured State Oceanic Administration (SOA) in China went into formal operation on Monday.
A new "State Oceanic Administration" name board has been set up at the entrance gate. ...
The SOA, which is administered by the Ministry of Land and Resources, integrates functions of China Marine Surveillance, the coast guard forces of the Public Security Ministry, the fisheries law enforcement command of the Agriculture Ministry and the maritime anti-smuggling police of the General Administration of Customs.
For reasons I went into here, a unified command is a good idea.
The bad news is that if there is an armed incident, it is more likely to have been a decision from the top rather than the misguided initiative of an agency lower down the chain.
Hey, speaking of decisions from the top (from the Chinese People's Daily article):
According to a rule recently approved by the State Council, the SOA will increase its duties concerning law enforcement and the protection of maritime rights.
A unified command ordered to be more aggressive at sea. That's the bad news, of course.
UPDATE: I guess the Chinese won't be satisfied until they provoke Japan into building nuclear missiles:
China says ships from its newly formed coast guard confronted Japanese patrol vessels Friday near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
The State Oceanic Administration, which oversees the service, says four of its ships “sternly declared” China’s sovereignty over the Japan-administered islets, which China claims and calls the Diaoyu and demanded that the Japan Coast Guard ships leave the area.
How this ends well for China, I do not know.
UPDATE: Like I said, it is good news only if you view accidental war as a greater threat than Chinese decisions to risk war:
So in reality, the advent of the China Coast Guard furnishes little cause for cheer among Asian sea powers. In all likelihood, as my friend Arthur Ding of Taiwan's National Chengchi University observes, the new agency will step up enforcement actions. If so, it will generate new frictions rather than smooth them out. It will prosecute Beijing's territorial claims more efficiently and effectively than the previous, motley crew of maritime enforcement services ever could. But hey, at least we'll know whom to hold responsible!
Sci-fi master Robert Heinlein had a thumb rule for life: never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity, but don't rule out malice. Creating the China Coast Guard helps rule out bureaucratic stupidity as an explanation for Chinese behavior at sea. Which leaves … hmm.
Keep our powder dry.
UPDATE: And I should clarify that the new coast guard still leaves one of the former five paramilitary navies--Maritime Safety Administration--independent.
