85 sq km of territorial waters demarcated for city

The central government of China has approved the demarcation of 85 square kilometres of territorial waters for the MSAR. However, for future reclamation plans the local government will still need the nod from Beijing.
The news was announced by Chief of the Office of the Chief Executive O Lam, the Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak and Marine and Water Bureau director Susana Wong Soi Man at a press conference last night.
According to Ms. O, the local government will still need to report to the central government if it wants to undertake further reclamation in the new territorial waters “as the geographic location of local waters is important to the whole Pearl River.”
In addition, she said that future reclamation in territorial waters cannot be used for gaming projects as restricted by the Chinese State Council.
The new demarcation will also grant local government the power to handle security and monitor sailing activities in local waters.
Besides granting territorial waters, the Chinese authorities have also demarcated new land boundaries for the city, giving the local government administrative rights to the land plot of the Border Gate checkpoint. The city has rented the plot from the Chinese government since 2002.
Both the new maritime and land demarcation for the Special Administrative Region will come into effect on December 20, at which time the State Council will release the new map showing the city’s new boundary lines.
Last December, Chinese President Xi Jinping first gave the city approval to conduct a study on the jurisdiction of its own waters during his visit to the territory for the 15th anniversary of Macau’s handover. The local government, meanwhile, officially filed its request for administrative rights over its waters at the end of September.