China's Coast Guard Law Takes Effect, Authorizing Weapons Use

China's Coast Guard Law entered into force, authorizing the China Coast Guard to use 'all necessary means, including the use of weapons' against foreign vessels in waters China claims jurisdiction over. Article 22 also authorizes demolition of structures erected by other parties on Chinese-claimed features. The Philippines' Foreign Affairs Secretary Locsin called it 'a verbal threat of war'; Japan, Vietnam, and the US all expressed formal concern about its destabilizing implications.