China to regulate sea use in 2014

China will issue a policy on regulating the country's maritime area commercial use via tender, auction or listing in 2014, said the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) on Monday. According to a SOA guideline on sea area management in 2014, the SOA will improve the system of maritime property deals and jointly release a mortgage policy on the right of maritime use with the central bank. The administration will make the utmost efforts to complete the establishment of county-level oceanic functional zones and improve a three-tier oceanic zone system including national, provincial and city and county levels, said the guideline. The SOA will also tighten implementation of the country's sea reclamation plan, establish a multi-level coastal protection mechanism, and promote the protection and use of provincial-level coastlines. In order to reinforce safe seabed use, the SOA plans to improve the administration of seabed cable tunnels this year. The SOA will also set up pilot zones with dense maritime projects where surveys of current sea area use will be carried out, and accelerate the upgrade of dynamic monitoring.