国务院第27号令
（Adopted by the 32nd Executive Meeting of the State Council on January 20， 1989， promulgated by Decree No. 27 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on February 11， 1989， and effective as of March1， 1989）
颁布日期：19890120 　实施日期：19890301 　颁布单位：国务院

Article 1 These Provisions are formulated in order to safeguard the sovereignty and the rights and interests of the People's Republic of China， to carry out rational exploitation of seas and oceans， and to lay in an orderly way and protect submarine cables and pipelines.

Article 2 These Provisions shall apply to the laying of submarine cables and pipelines in such areas as inland seas， territorial seas and continental shelves under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China， and also to the investigations and survey of routes and other relevant activities conducted for the aforesaid engineering projects.

Article 3 The competent authorities for the administration of the laying of submarine cables and pipelines in such areas as the said inland seas， territorial seas and continental shelves， and also for the investigations and survey of routes and other relevant activities for the aforesaid engineering projects， shall be the State Oceanographic Bureau of the People's Republic of China （hereinafter referred to as “the competent authorities”）。

Article 4 When China's enterprises or institutions plan to lay submarine cables and pipelines， they shall file an application with their superior authorities for examination and approval before they conduct investigations and survey of routes and other relevant activities for the aforesaid engineering projects in accordance with these Provisions. When foreign companies， enterprises and other foreign economic organizations or individuals have the necessity to lay submarine cables and pipelines， and also to conduct investigations and survey of routes and other relevant activities for the aforesaid engineering projects in the inland seas and territorial seas of the People's Republic of China， they shall， in accordance with these Provisions， apply to the competent authorities for approval； if they have the necessity to carry out the said activities on the continental shelves of the People's Republic of China， they shall notify the competent authorities in advance， but the routes they have selected and decided on for laying the cables and pipelines must have the consent of the competent authorities.

Article 5 The owners of the submarine cables and pipelines （hereinafter referred to as “the owners”） shall file a written application with the competent authorities 60 days before they start the investigations and survey of routes for laying the submarine cables and pipelines. The written application shall contain the following：

（1） the name， nationality， and residence of the owner；

（2） the name， nationality， and residence as well as the chief person-in- charge of the unit which will conduct the investigations and survey of the routes for laying the submarine cables and pipelines；

（3） the precise geographical areas in which the investigations and survey are to be conducted for laying the submarine cables and pipelines；

（4） the time， the items， methods and equipment - including the ship to be used： its name， nationality， tonnage， and major pieces of equipment and their functions - for conducting the investigations and survey of routes for laying the submarine cables and pipelines.

The competent authorities shall make a reply within 30 days as of the date of receipt of the application.

Article 6 After the investigations and survey for laying the submarine cables and pipelines have been completed， the owners shall submit a report， delineating the final decision on the routes for laying the submarine cables and pipelines 60 days before the laying project is started， to the competent authorities for examination and approval， and the report shall be submitted together with the following data：

（1） the purposes of laying the submarine cables and pipelines， the materials to be used and their properties；

（2） the precious route chart and position chart of the submarine cables and pipelines， their starting point and terminal point， their relay points （stations） and their total length；

（3） the construction contractor， time and plan for construction， and technical equipment；

（4） a report on the repercussions of the cable-and pipeline-laying engineering project on marine resources and environment；

（5） other explanatory data.

The competent authorities shall make a reply within 30 days as of the date of receipt of the application.

Article 7 After the completion of the engineering project， the owners shall submit all the explanatory data， such as the route chart and position chart of the submarine cables and pipelines， to the competent authorities for the record， and send duplicates to the harbour superintendence organs.

When the State needs the relevant technical data for the exploitation of marine resources or for carrying out administration， the owners have the obligations to provide the competent authorities with further precise data concerning the submarine cables and pipelines.

Article 8 The operations of laying submarine cables and pipelines and the investigations and surveying activities for the cable-and pipeline-laying engineering project shall not conducted beyond the approved sea areas； nor shall operations and activities other than these approved be conducted in the approved sea areas.

Article 9 In the event that changes or modifications in the approved operation plan for laying the submarine cables and pipelines are required before the operations start or during the operations， the owners shall report the case to the competent authorities in good time. If the changes or modifications are of sizable proportions， the competent authorities may take appropriate measures accordingly， up to ordering the owners to cease the operations.

Article 10 With respect to such operations as maintenance， alteration， dismantling， or abandonment of the submarine cables and pipelines， the owners shall submit a report on the said operations to the competent authorities in advance. If a relatively big change is to be effected in the routes of the submarine cables and pipelines， the owners shall go through the relevant procedures of application once again.

When foreign vessels have the necessity to enter China's inland seas and territorial seas to carry out activities in the maintenance， alteration， or dismantling of submarine cables and pipelines， the owners shall， in addition to going through the procedures as prescribed in the first paragraph of this Article， submit an application to the administrative department concerned in China for approval， in accordance with the pertinent provisions of China's laws.

When the damaged submarine cables and pipelines laid on China's continental shelves need emergency repairs， foreign maintenance vessels may enter the site to start the emergency repairs simultaneously with a report submitted to the competent authorities. However the said operations shall not impair China's sovereign rights and jurisdiction.

Article 11 Operations such as the investigations and surveying activities for identifying the routes for laying submarine cables and pipelines， the laying， maintenance， and dismantling， must not hamper the normal order of marine navigation and transportation. The bits and pieces left over from the engineering project of laying submarine cables and pipelines and from the dismantling project shall be disposed of carefully and must not hamper the normal order of marine navigation and transportation.

Article 12 When the laying of submarine cables and pipelines and other marine engineering operations require that those submarine cables and pipelines already laid be moved， prior consultations must be conducted with the owners of the aforesaid installations and an approval must be obtained from the competent authorities before the said engineering project starts.

Article 13 Operators who are engaged in various activities at sea must protect the submarine cables and pipelines that have already been laid. Those who have caused damages to the said installations shall make compensations according to law.

In the event that disputes arise over the exploitation of the seas and oceans and the normal functioning of submarine cables and pipelines， the disputes shall be mediated and handled by the competent authorities.

Article 14 The competent authorities shall have the power to supervise and inspect the laying， maintenance， alteration， dismantling and abandonment of submarine cables and pipelines as well as the relevant investigations and surveying activities conducted for the laying of submarine cables and pipelines. The competent authorities may impose on violators of these Provisions such penalties as warning， fine， up to an order to cease their operations at sea.

The specific measures for imposing the penalties as mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be formulated by the competent authorities in conjunction with other competent authorities concerned under the State Council.

Article 15 The plan for determining the routes for laying submarine cables and pipelines beyond the petroleum exploitation zones in order to exploit marine petroleum resources shall be submitted to the competent authorities prior to the examination and approval of the overall plan for the exploitation of oil （and gas） fields； and the competent authorities shall give approval after consultation with the competent state authorities for energy resources.

With respect to the laying of submarine cables and pipelines within the marine petroleum development zones between the drilling platforms or between drilling platforms and single berthing points， the owners shall， before the start of the investigations and survey of routes for the laying of submarine cables and pipelines and the start of cable-and pipeline- laying operations， submit a report specifying the contents as provided in Article 5 and Article 6 of these Provisions to the competent authorities for the record.

Article 16 With respect to the operational activities such as laying， maintenance， alteration， dismantling and abandonment of submarine cables and pipelines， as well as the investigations and surveying activities conducted for identifying the routes for laying the submarine cables and pipelines， in case there are any aspects which are not covered in these Provisions， the Provisions in other relevant State laws， decrees and regulations shall apply.

Article 17 The laying of submarine cables and pipelines for military purposes in the People's Republic of China shall be handled in accordance with these Provisions. The armed forces may formulate specific rules for the implementation of these Provisions.

Article 18 The competent authorities shall collect data concerning submarine topography and the distribution of structures at sea in order to offer consultancy services for laying of submarine cables and pipelines， and for conducting relevant investigations and surveying activities.

Article 19 The term “cables”， as used in these Provisions， refers to communications cables and electric cables； the term “pipelines” refers to the pipe-shaped conveying and transporting installations used for conveyance of water， gas， oil and other substances.

Article 20 The right to interpret these Provisions resides in the State Oceanographic Bureau of the People's Republic of China.

Article 21 These Provisions shall go into effect on March 1， 1989