Regular patrol and construction help with free navigation

Traffic in the South China Sea was unhindered and safe in 2017, and China’s regular patrols and long-term management of the area has guaranteed the safety of the region and the navigation of passing merchant ships, a report on the navigation status of the South China Sea shows.

Lighthouses and other public service facilities constructed on islands and reefs in the South China Sea have improved navigation and services, according to the Research Report on the Navigation Status in the South China Sea in 2017, issued by the China Institute of Navigation and Shanghai Maritime University (SMU).

China has built five multifunctional lighthouses on islands and reefs, including Nansha Islands and Huayang Reef, to help merchant vessels navigate, the report said.

“The security measures provided by China are necessary and reliable, and the situation in the South China Sea is moving positively with China’s contributions,” Wang Zhiming, one of the authors of the report and a professor at Merchant Marine College of SMU, told the Global Times on Thursday.

He said that China has strengthened cooperation with Southeast Asian countries in the search and rescue of merchant vessels in the South China Sea since 2017.

A total of 7,909 ships sailed in the South China Sea in March 2017, and 7,502 ships in June 2017. Most of the passing ships had a capacity of over 30,000 tons, and were from 70 countries and regions, news site chinanews.com reported, citing the report.

The accident rate in the South China Sea in the past 10 years is low, with occasional piracy and armed robberies outside the core waters of the South China Sea, said the report.

The report said that the recommended routes in the South China Sea mainly apply to merchant ships sailing to and from ports in China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries. These routes are divided into the eastern routes, the middle routes and the western routes.

Wang said that the recommended routes are evenly distributed and chosen based on the flow of merchant ships.

However, the occasional intrusion of US warships into Chinese territorial waters in the South China Sea has not only violated China’s sovereignty, but also posed a safety threat to passing merchant ships, said Wang.

The US intrusions might also cause economic losses to those ships, he added.