context: The PRC is elevating Antarctic governance from administrative regulation to full statutory law for the first time, against a backdrop of its expanding polar presence: multiple research stations including the 2024-opened Qinling Station, growing krill-fishing activity and obligations under the Antarctic Treaty System and its environmental protocol. The bill signals Beijing's intent to formalise compliance and pre-empt criticism that its polar and resource activities outpace its regulatory framework.
The Antarctic activities and environmental protection bill was submitted for a second reading to the 14th National People's Congress Standing Committee on 23 June. The second-reading draft proposes raising fines based on the impact, severity and recovery difficulty of harm to the Antarctic environment, alongside precision edits to provisions on fishing activities and emergency environmental-incident reporting
- raising fine amounts (Article 45)
- targeting failure to sort and process waste and other conduct that may harm the Antarctic environment
- the draft adds 'in serious cases, a fine of C¥50,000 to C¥500,000
- precision of fishing-activity wording (Article 14)
- Antarctic fishing requires a catch permit
- 'relevant provisions adopted by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources' revised to 'conservation measures stipulated by' the Commission
- reason: the Commission's documents include both binding conservation measures and non-binding advisory texts; the revision makes the wording more precise
- expanded reporting recipients for emergency environmental incidents (Article 26, paragraph two)
- previously required reporting only to the State Council's oceanic authority
- the draft adds the fishery and fishery-administration and transport authorities
- clarifies strengthened inter-agency information-sharing on emergency environmental incidents