China Maritime Research Articles

Spatio-Temporal Differences of the Contributions of Marine Industrial Structure Changes to Marine Economic Growth

Zhai, S., 2020. Spatio-temporal differences of the contributions of marine industrial structure changes to marine economic growth. In: Yang, Y.; Mi, C.; Zhao, L., and Lam, S. (eds.), Global Topics and New Trends in Coastal Research: Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 103, pp. 1–5. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.The continuous expansion of the differences in marine economy affects the realization of China's maritime power strategic goals. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the level of development of the marine economy, analyze the actual differences in coastal areas and find out the constraints. Sustainable development has important value. This paper mainly studies the spatial-temporal differences in the contribution of marine industry structural changes to marine economic growth. The cumulative contribution rate of 6 principal components extracted in this paper reaches 93.346%. The 6 principal components can explain the comprehensive development level of the marine economy in coastal provinces and cities. It shows that its comprehensive development level is below the average development level. It can be seen from the calculation results that the internal structure of the industry is constrained by the level of science and technology, scientific and technological breakthroughs are difficult, and the evolution of the industrial structure is slow, so its contribution to the growth of the marine economy is relatively low. Therefore, in the process of optimizing the structure of the marine industry, more attention must be paid to improving the development mode and quality of the marine industry, giving play to the role of science and technology, improving the quality of the supply of the marine industry, transforming and upgrading the traditional marine industry, mastering core technologies for the development of the marine industry, and fostering the Market competitiveness of the industry.

The legal system for environmental protection during exploration and exploitation of marine mineral resources in China

Great achievements have been achieved in exploring mineral resources in China since recent decades, which have significantly contributed to the climate change on the other hand. Environmental laws perhaps at par values to govern and administer the ecological environment protection in the exploration of natural resource such as marine mineral resources. China has developed various laws and policies to administer its extensive economic growth coupled with the utilisation of marine mineral resources. This study adopts both qualitative and quantitative means for data collection and content analysis of current legal developments in this regards. Therefore, the study aims to discuss practices and contributions China has made concerning the exploitation of marine mineral resources and the protection of the marine environment. The focus then turns to the adaptation of Chinese laws regarding the exploitation of marine mineral resources in its continental shelf and the Area. To this end, some lessons can be learned from other State practices such as Germany and the Czech Republic. The paper concludes by suggesting that China should actively participate in the mineral resources development and ecological environmental protection works to improve laws governing the ecological environment protection obligations on Chinese and foreign enterprises, in order to provide a legal basis for the ecological environment protection of China's maritime areas.

MJO and CCEW modulation on South China Sea and Maritime Continent boreal winter subseasonal peak precipitation

MJO and CCEW modulation on South China Sea and Maritime Continent boreal winter subseasonal peak precipitation

Research on the Status Quo and Countermeasures of China's Maritime Logistics Development in the New Period

Chen, P., 2019. Research on the status quo and countermeasures of China's maritime logistics development in the new period. In: Li, L.; Wan, X.; and Huang, X. (eds.), Recent Developments in Practices and Research on Coastal Regions: Transportation, Environment and Economy. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 98, pp. 207–210. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.With the continuous deepening of China's modernization construction, the logistics industry has developed rapidly, and marine transportation has occupied the most important position in international trade transportation. Marine transportation has the advantages of large volume, low cost, and wide route, with the limiting factors of speed and risk. This paper makes a detailed analysis on the overall development status of China's shipping from the perspectives of the layout, scale, and total logistics of the sea and proposes some suggestions in line with the development of China's shipping logistics. The paper begins with the total volume of maritime logistics, regional layout, enterprise scale, and ship transportation capacity; analyzes the development status of China's maritime logistics; and finally proposes countermeasures such as integrating resources, increasing investment, and supporting enterprises in view of the problems existing in maritime logistics.

The Influences of Convectively Coupled Kelvin Waves on Multiscale Rainfall Variability over the South China Sea and Maritime Continent in December 2016

ABSTRACTWe studied the scale interactions of the convectively coupled Kelvin waves (KWs) over the South China Sea (SCS) and Maritime Continent (MC) during December 2016. Three KWs were observed near the equator in this month while the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) was inactive. The impacts of these KWs on the rainfall variability of various time scales are diagnosed, including synoptic disturbances, diurnal cycle (DC), and the onset of the Australian monsoon. Four interaction events between the KWs and the westward-propagating waves over the off-equatorial regions were examined; two events led to KW enhancements and the other two contributed to the formation of a tropical depression/tropical cyclone. Over the KW convectively active region of the MC, the DC of precipitation was enhanced in major islands and neighboring oceans. Over the land, the DC hot spots were modulated depending on the background winds and the terrain effects. Over the ocean, the “coastal regime” of the DC appeared at specific coastal areas. Last, the Australian summer monsoon onset occurred with the passage of a KW, which provided favorable conditions of low-level westerlies and initial convection over southern MC and the Arafura Sea. This effect may be helped by the warm sea surface temperature anomalies associated with the La Niña condition of this month. The current results showcase that KWs and their associated scale interactions can provide useful references for weather monitoring and forecast of this region when the MJO is absent.

Maritime Communication Regulation: A Model for Evaluating the Performance

Li, D. and Zhang, Y., 2019. Maritime communication regulation: A model for evaluating the performance. In: Gong, D.; Zhu, H., and Liu, R. (eds.), Selected Topics in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 94, pp. 997–1001. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.China's maritime communication regulatory departments have issued some corresponding regulatory policies to ensure the sound development of China's maritime communication, but the evaluation of the regulatory performance of these policies has not been taken seriously, and some existing studies still lack a set of performance evaluation models verified by empirical studies. Based on this, this paper first uses principal component analysis method to establish an exploratory model of China's maritime communication regulation performance evaluation based on the maritime communication data of 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China. On this basis, it uses BP neural network algorithm to verify the model and finally establishes a model of China's maritime communication regulation performance evaluation, thus providing a useful reference for China's maritime communication regulation.

Measurement of Consumer's Brand Cognitive Confusion in China's Maritime and Land Silk Road Area

Zhao, P.-Y.; Sui, Y.-T.; Liu, X.-M.,2019. Measurement of consumer's brand cognitive confusion in China's maritime and land silk road area. In: Gong, D.; Zhu, H., and Liu, R. (eds.), Selected Topics in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 94, pp. 962–965. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Research on brand cognition has mainly focused on examining its influence on the behavioral outcomes. Many areas in brand information reception and processing, however, have been neglected, such as research on how consumers react to the complex information environment. As such, firstly, this research gives the connotation of brand cognitive confusion based on interdisciplinary literature review. Secondly, the research develops and validates a scale to measure brand cognitive confusion and bases its measurement on Chinese mobile phone market. Considering the inter-regional development imbalance in China and China's current regional development strategy, the research uses samples from both eastern coastal provinces and western in-land province in China's maritime and land silk road area. Finally, the research builds the conceptual model that consists of four dimensions: product quality confusion, product function confusion, brand personality confusion and enterprise capacity confusion.

Analysis of Administrative Management and Operation Cost in China's Maritime Shipping Market

Huang, Q.; Cui, Y.; Liu, X., and Liang, X., 2019. Analysis of administrative management and operation cost in China's maritime shipping market. In: Gong, D.; Zhu, H., and Liu, R. (eds.), Selected Topics in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 94, pp. 398–405. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Seaborne trade is the most significant transportation mode in the International Trade Market. Transportation efficiency on the International Water is mainly influenced by the ship's performance and weather situation, while the efficiency of cargo transshipment and domestic transportation is significantly affected by the policies, regulations and management efficiency of the local government, which highly affects the change of the operating cost of enterprises. It is necessary for the government to optimize the Business Environment of Maritime Shipping Market (MSM) to improve Administrative efficiency and reduce the enterprises' operating cost. This study focuses on the status of China's government administrative management and the effect of the government's function to enterprises cost in maritime shipping market to provide the reference to optimize the Business Environment of MSM in China.

Comments on the Revision of China’s Maritime Code

The China Maritime Code entered into force on July 1, 1993. Twenty-five years later, the first and substantial amendment was initiated in 2018. The proposed law adds two new chapters, the Domestic Carriage of Goods by Water and Liability for Compensation of Ship Pollution Damage. In addition, the proposed law has stipulations related to the title of the ship, especially ships under construction, and other issues to be consistent with new international conventions and the development of other related legislation. Every coin has two sides, and both praise and criticism of this amendment exist.

The Emerging Great Power Politics and Regionalism: Structuring Effective Regional Conflict Management

AbstractThe intensifying rivalry between the leading global powers (the United States and the European Union) on one hand, and the aspiring nations (such as China, Russia, India, Turkey, and others) on the other, creates additional challenges to conflict resolution on the regional scale. The global and aspiring powers often seek to use these conflicts to sap their opponents’ resources, discredit their commitments and undermine resolve. As a result, most conflicts in post‐Soviet Eurasia and some in the Middle East (Syria) and Asia (disputes over China's maritime claims) become ‘frozen’ or intractable and defy resolution. Existing multilateral alliances and blocs across the conflict ridden regions are engaged in the struggle for members and appear incapable of concerted conflict resolution policies. What is needed to address the intensifying proxy conflict problem is a set of multilateral permanent negotiation fora bringing together the leading global powers and aspiring nations. Despite the manifold challenges to such scheme, the contours of a deal that can be reached within such fora is clear: status elevation for the aspiring nations in return for their good faith engagement with the leading global powers in conflict resolution.

Financial Revolution in Republican China During 1900–37: A Survey and a New Interpretation

This paper surveys the phenomenal transformation of banking and finance, public debt, and monetary regimes during 1900–37, a period of great political instability in Chinese history. To understand why growth in these strategic sectors occurred, I highlight the role of the institutional nexus of Western treaty ports (with Shanghai being the most important) and China Maritime Customs service, a relatively autonomous tax bureaucracy. My new interpretation on the importance of this mechanism sheds new light on the role of Chinese political institutions, the impact of the West and the ongoing Great Divergence debate.

Towards naval normalcy: 'open seas protection' and Sino-US maritime relations

On May 26th, 2015, China published its 10th Defense White Paper which integrated 'open seas protection', along with 'offshore waters defense', into its naval strategy. This shift in naval strategy, albeit largely anticipated, raises a series of important questions about China's maritime ambitions. This article seeks to analyze the causes, nature and challenges of China's latest shift in naval strategy, and its implications for Sino-US maritime relations. The article argues that China's latest shift in naval strategy is a logical corollary of the tension between China's expanding global interests and its asymmetric approach to sea power, and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) provides the necessary stimulus and justification for such a shift. China's new naval strategy, the paper contends, denotes that it will develop a Mahanian blue-water navy and a basic network of overseas bases in the years ahead. Those two developments are expected to pose a series of significant challenges for China's foreign policy. The article argues that China's new naval strategy presents both challenges and opportunities for China and the world. To accomplish 'open seas protection', China will probably have to modify its policies on a range of issues, and moderate its competitive stance in the near seas. Although China's new naval strategy need not be interpreted in a competitive framework, it does present China with a stark choice: either it pursues more friendly attitudes towards its maritime ambitions by modifying its current policy, or it will be increasingly confronted by a coalition of hostile states.

Boundaries and Beyond: China's Maritime Southeast in Late Imperial Times by Ng Chin-Keong

Boundaries and Beyond: China's Maritime Southeast in Late Imperial Times by Ng Chin-Keong

Development of Maritime Law in China Within the Last Five Years: Maritime Legislation, Cases and Jurisdiction

This paper examines the development of maritime law in China within the last five years, from the perspective of China's maritime legislations, cases and jurisdiction of the court, in light of the latest national strategies, such as building China into a maritime power, implementing the "Belt and Road" initiative and building China into an international shipping hub. Chinese maritime law is anticipating a reform. China has implemented various maritime-related laws and regulations in recent years, including the <i>2014 Waterway Law</i>. Besides, the 12th National People's Congress Standing Committee has formally ratified the International Labour Organization's <i>2006 Maritime Labor Convention</i> at its 16th meeting on August 29th, 2015. The Supreme People's Court has released ten maritime model cases in the conference celebrating the 30th anniversary of establishing maritime court in China. These model cases offer valuable guidance to maritime trials in the future. To improve the maritime adjudication and to turn China into a judicial hub for international maritime matters, China has undertaken reform to confer maritime court with jurisdiction to hold criminal hearings. Ningbo Maritime Court held a public court hearing over the case of "Catalina". It was the first criminal hearing in the maritime court of China. New elements of reform on criminal jurisdiction were also demonstrated in the trial of the case. Another important measure taken to perfect the admiralty jurisdiction in China is the regular publication of White Papers on maritime issues. These White Papers have summarized and highlighted some of the important maritime trials by the Maritime Courts in recent years. Meanwhile, the Supreme People's Court has issued the <i>Notice of the Supreme People's Court on Issuing the Provisions on Case Guidance</i>, which has made specific provisions on the guiding cases. Amongst the guiding cases released, some of them are relate to maritime matter.

Evolution and issues of marine pollution law in China: From 1970s to 2018

Abstract What’s responsibility Sanchi oil tanker should take under Chinese law? Under the initiative of the belt and one road, especially Maritime Silk Road, China Maritime Court has extended jurisdiction to cover all cases arising from seawater since 2016, which means that China Maritime Court has criminal and administrative jurisdiction in maritime affairs besides civil jurisdiction in the near future. The compound mode of jurisdiction is one of the most important steps in the judicial reform of China. This development will affect maritime legislation deeply, especially marine pollution law. China has made the great improvement in marine pollution legislation in the past forty-five years. However, due to the old administrative pattern of land-based strategy, “from many doors” becomes the difficult pyridoxine for practice; Chinese governments used to depending on the special regulations instead of Ocean Basic Law to regulate marine pollution act, there is no global law to regulate marine pollution act up to now. Based on the results of marine pollution cases judged or solved by the China Maritime Court, marine polluter only needs to pay economic damages and there is no criminal liability. For solving practical matters more efficiently and thoroughly, and for protecting the marine environment more globally, we’d better adjust administrative management pattern, make Ocean Basic Law, and set multiple liabilities for marine polluter and unify marine pollution legislation.

The dilemmas of regional states: How Southeast Asian states view and respond to India–China maritime competition

ABSTRACTThis article examines contemporary perceptions and the corresponding responses of Southeast Asian states vis-à-vis India–China maritime competition. Specifically, it examines the cases of Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. These countries provide useful cross-comparisons as, bilaterally, all three states relate uniquely to China and the maritime disputes in the South China Sea on the basis of two structural conditions – their formal security relationship with the US and whether they are a claimant state in the South China Sea dispute. The link between the range afforded by these three cases and the manner in which it drives their perceptions towards India–China maritime competition forms the core of this article. These three countries perceive differing levels of threat from China and have chosen a range of external balancing strategies to deal with these perceived threats. The nature of US–China and India–China security competition, the latter specifically in the maritime realm, structures the external balancing strategies they have pursued. There are, this article argues, important links between US–China and India–China strategic competition in structuring the external balancing strategies these countries pursue.

Bayesian network modelling and analysis of accident severity in waterborne transportation: A case study in China

The rapid development of the shipping industry requires the use of large vessels carrying high-volume cargoes. Accidents incurred by these vessels can lead to a heavy loss of life and damage to the environment and property. As a leading country in international trade, China has developed its waterway transport systems, including inland waterways and coastal shipping, in the past decades. A few catastrophic shipping accidents have occurred during this period. This paper aims to develop a new risk analysis approach based on Bayesian networks (BNs) to enable the analysis of accident severity in waterborne transportation. Although the risk data are derived from accidents that occurred in China's waters, the risk factors influencing accident severity and the risk modelling methodology are generic and capable of generating useful insights on waterway risk analysis in a broad sense.To develop the BN-based risk model, waterway accident data are first collected from all accident investigation reports by China's Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) from 1979 to 2015. Based on the derived quantitative data, we identify the factors related to the severity of waterway accidents and use them as nodes of the risk model. Second, based on a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, an augmented naïve BN (ABN) model is selected through a comparative study with a naïve BN (NBN) model to analyse the key risk factors influencing waterway accident severity. The results show that the key factors influencing waterway safety include the type and location of the accident and the type and age of the ship. Moreover, a novel scenario analysis is conducted to predict accident severity in various situations by combining different states (e.g., high risk) of the key factors to generate useful insights for accident prevention. More specifically, the findings can aid transport authorities, ship owners and other stakeholders in improving waterborne transportation safety under uncertainty.

Maritime Shipping and Export Trade on “Maritime Silk Road”

The initiative of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road will not only enhance China's international trade with countries along the road, but will also bring opportunities and challenges to China's maritime shipping industry. This article examines correlations between freight rate and the export trade on the five shipping routes of the Maritime Silk Road by the VAR model. The empirical results show that among the five routes, on the Persian Gulf route and European route, export has a significantly negative impact on freight index; however, on the Southeast Asian route and Taiwanese route freight index has a significantly negative effect on exports. Finally, some strategies were put forward on the Chinese shipping market and industry.

The Reality of China's Maritime Capability

It is the policy of the Chinese Communist Party that the country should become a great maritime power. In this article, Martin N Murphy and Peter Roberts provide an overview of what this means militarily, where China is laying down a challenge to the US and its regional neighbours, where it is falling short, and what this has to do with Europe.

The Role of Japan in Sustaining Regional Order in East Asia

The Role of Japan in Sustaining Regional Order in East Asia Hideshi Tokuchi (bio) East Asia faces a diverse set of security challenges, both traditional and nontraditional. Countries have attempted to address these challenges through a variety of security measures, including alliances, political and security communities, and other frameworks for regional cooperation. These initiatives are often independent from each other but not mutually exclusive. It is important for countries to share a clear understanding of what the core element of the regional order is and to try to network their various endeavors in order to generate maximum synergy. Many in Japan view the U.S.-centered alliance network as the bedrock institution of the regional security structure in East Asia and believe that the U.S.-Japan alliance is the central piece of this network. This essay examines this conception of the regional order and is organized into three sections. The first section provides an overview of the regional security environment, while the next section explains the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance in the regional security system. The essay then concludes by discussing the prospects for multilateral cooperation to strengthen the regional order. The Regional Security Environment East Asia has been stable for decades but includes numerous sources of potential instability. Asia is home to four established nuclear powers, and five nuclear weapons states in total with the addition of North Korea. Three of these countries are in East Asia, and Japan neighbors all of them. Moreover, the region includes two hot spots with long-standing military disputes that involve divided states—the Korean Peninsula and the Taiwan Strait—as well as a flashpoint for potential conflict, the South China Sea, given the escalation of territorial disputes between China and other claimant states. The most serious threat to regional stability is North Korea's rapidly developing nuclear weapons and missile programs. North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests since October 2006, and one can reasonably assume it has already, or is close to, successfully miniaturizing [End Page 32] nuclear warheads. Pyongyang has also conducted tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles with the capability to reach much of the continental United States. Just as the Korean War militarized and globalized the Cold War over a half a century ago, the current situation on the Korean Peninsula reminds the world of the global nature of the security threat posed by North Korea. Another serious challenge in East Asia is China's maritime expansion. China's land reclamation and militarization in the South China Sea continue, while in the East China Sea Chinese law-enforcement vessels regularly enter the contiguous zone surrounding the Senkaku Islands and intrude into Japan's territorial waters.1 To become a maritime power has been a dream of China's since its defeat to the United Kingdom in the Opium Wars in the 1800s.2 China's provocative actions in the East and South China Seas have heightened tensions with regional states and disrupted the East Asian order by trying to alter the status quo by force and challenging the U.S. presence, which is the basis of the regional security system. Looking at the big picture, today we see more competition between sovereign states and more confrontation between liberal democracy and authoritarianism. This trend is accelerating WMD proliferation and disrupting free and unimpeded access to the global commons, particularly in the maritime sphere. China, with its growing power and influence, is trying to keep the United States as far away as possible from the Asian continent. If this situation continues, the balance of power will tilt more toward China, which would be detrimental to the national interests of Japan. However, it is also important to note that the Sino-U.S. competition is not a Cold War–style competition. Because of globalization, both the United States and China have national interests that overlap in a number of areas, as does Japan. In those areas, there is room to broaden cooperation. The international security agenda in East Asia today intertwines complex traditional and nontraditional issues and requires delicate diplomacy by all players involved. [End Page 33] The Importance of the U.S.-Japan Alliance in the Regional...