China has passed a new legislation to strengthen the power of its maritime safety authorities.

This move has sparked fear that tensions between Beijing and other Asian countries, including Japan, may escalate in the Indo-Pacific region.

According to an ANI report, the international public opinion has raised concern over the oppressive Coast Guard Law of China, saying that Beijing uses the law to legalise its coast guard forces use of violence to serve the country's unilateral sovereignty claim in the South China Sea.

The Coast Guard Law of China was adopted at the 25th session of the Standing Committee of the country's 13th National People's Congress in late January and officially became effective on February 1.

However, the latest revision was passed at the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body on Thursday. It is scheduled to be put into force on September 1, citing Xinhua, the Japan Times reported.

This law comes at a time when China has conflicting territorial claims with four of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations namely, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam; as well as Taiwan in the South China Sea and Japan in the East China Sea.

The legislation will enable China to also block overseas ships from intruding into the territorial waters if they do not fall under innocent passage under international law, Japan Times further reported.

Jay Batongbacal, Director of the University of the Philippines's Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said this law basically authorizes the China Coast Guard to use force in its attempt to exercise jurisdiction over waters claimed unilaterally by China, and allows it to demolish foreign structures built on Chinese-claimed reefs and islands, as well as to set up exclusion zones to keep foreign vessels out.

Image courtesy: ANI