06-05-2025
Map Shows Where China Is Imposing Fishing Ban on Neighbors
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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China has begun its annual moratorium on fishing in bordering seas in a move likely to inflame territorial tensions with multiple countries.
Beijing says the unilateral fishing ban, which lasts up to four and a half months in some waters, is meant to allow fisheries to recover and benefits the entire region. But some neighbors maintain it is a violation of their sovereignty in shared maritime zones where contested boundaries have yet to be delimited.
Why It Matters
China claims most of the South China Sea in defiance of a 2016 arbitral ruling that had dismissed its assertions as excessive and unlawful. Chinese maritime forces have recently advanced claims in the contested Spratly Islands, which are claimed by the Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally. Beijing also controls the Paracel Islands claimed by Vietnam, with which it has a separate dispute in the Gulf of Tonkin.
In the East China Sea, China contests the uninhabited Senkaku Islands with Japan and claims waters in the Yellow Sea against South Korea. And in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei-controlled islets off the mainland Chinese coast have also seen confrontations.
Newsweek's map shows the extent of the sweeping ban in the surrounding seas, which are home to fertile fishing grounds, including those that fall within the legally claimed exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of neighboring countries.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese and Japanese foreign ministries and South Korean embassy in the U.S. with emailed requests for comment.
What To Know
All fishing activities, except tackle fishing, must be suspended during the moratorium, according to the Chinese regulations. Major commercial fishing operations such as trawling and netting must halt, and vessels must return to their home ports to allow marine populations to recover.
Although fishermen take a financial hit during this period, they can take advantage of government subsidies to learn new skills and pursue other forms of employment, according to state-run Sanya Daily newspaper.
China's neighbors are unlikely to comply with the ban, and even China's massive coast guard—which was empowered last year to detain "trespassing" vessels and crews for up to 60 days—would be hard-pressed to enforce the ban over such a vast area.
Last year, the Philippines condemned the China's moratorium, expressing strong opposition to "illegal actions" that violated Philippine sovereignty in its EEZ.
Vietnam, which typically conducts tactful diplomacy with China, rebuked Beijing for disregarding international maritime law and reaffirmed its sovereignty claims over the Paracel archipelago, which China seized from then-South Vietnam after a naval battle in 1974. Hanoi also issued a separate complaint in September after Chinese authorities boarded a Vietnamese fishing boat and allegedly assaulted the crew.
Fishing boats are seen in Tailu village, on the Chinese coast opposite Taiwan's Matsu islands, in China's southeast Fujian province on May 25, 2024.
Fishing boats are seen in Tailu village, on the Chinese coast opposite Taiwan's Matsu islands, in China's southeast Fujian province on May 25, 2024.
Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images
What People Have Said
Pham Tu Hang, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson at a previous press conference: "China's fishing ban not only violates Vietnam's sovereignty in the Paracel Islands but also violates Vietnam's sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the exclusive economic zone defined under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
"Vietnam requests China to respect Vietnam's sovereignty over the Paracel Islands, sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over Vietnam's waters; to not complicate the situation, contributing to the maintenance of peace, stability and order in the South China Sea region."
Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs in a previous statement: "The Philippines called on China to cease and desist from the conduct of illegal actions that violates the Philippines' sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in its maritime zones; comply with its obligations under international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS and the final and binding 2016 Arbitral Award; and, adhere to its commitments under the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea."
What's Next
China's Agriculture Ministry last updated its fishing moratorium regulations in 2023, placing a ban on fishing in the Bohai Sea and parts of the Yellow Sea from May 1 to September 1 each year.
Further south, the ban applies to parts of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea from May 1 to September 16, while about half the South China Sea is covered by the moratorium from May 1 to August 16.
