China's legislation relating to islands categorizes the latter into inhabited and uninhabited ones.Between the two different types,only uninhabited islands can be acquired by those who aspire to be private island owners.In an effort to promote the development and utilization of uninhabited islands in China,a succession of laws and regulations have been formulated,including the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Offshore Islands,and the Application and Approval Measures on the Development and Utilization of Uninhabited Islands,among others.As the only tropical province in China,Hainan province boasts a large number of uninhabited islands,many of which are desired by prospective island owners.In order to promote the development of uninhabited islands,the Application and Approval Measures on the Development and Utilization of Uninhabited Islands in Hainan Province had been promulgated.Based on a detailed introduction on the main contents of the Measures,it is found that the Measures has set an innovative example for its kind in terms of the real estate publicity system,the construction permit and acceptance systems,solutions to using the islands before the issue of Island Protection Law,and verification systems.Nevertheless,the actual implementation of the Measures still brings a host of challenges with it.These relate to aspects of the Measures such as supply regulation premised on regulatory equilibrium,spatial planning with"Multiple-plan Coordination",and coordination between regulations on sea areas and islands.This paper proposes to maximize efforts to refine and coordinate general planning,to innovate systems and procedures regarding the use of islands and to promote the development and utilization of uninhabited islands through protective development in line with international standards.
