The new regulation under China's Maritime Traffic Safety Law will come into effect on September 1, according to a notice published last Friday by the country's Maritime Safety Administration.
Observers say the move could see further attempts by Beijing to control the civilian and military traffic around its claimed territories, which include hundreds of South China Sea features, but also extend to Taiwan, its outlying islands and the Japan-controlled Senkaku island chain in the East China Sea. The reporting rule applies to submersibles, nuclear vessels, ships carrying radioactive materials as well as vessels transporting "toxic and harmful substances" including oil, chemicals and liquefied gas, China's maritime authority said.
