The southern Chinese province of Hainan passed new regulations this week allowing local police “to board, seize and expel foreign ships illegally entering the province’s sea areas,” the state-run Global Times reported.

Activities defined as illegal by the new regulation include “illegally halting or dropping anchor . . . and carrying out publicity campaigns that endanger China’s national security”, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Hainan province administers about two million square kilometers (800,000sq miles) of ocean waters including the Kalayaan (Spratly) islands, which are also claimed in whole or in part by the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.

The West Philippine Sea includes some of the world’s most important shipping lanes and is believed to be rich in fossil fuels.

The Global Times quoted Li Zhaojie, a professor at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, as saying that the regulation could lead to stricter enforcement of Beijing’s right to expel ships entering its territory illegally.