In February international publicity forced a hotel, the Mangrove Tree Resort World inHainan, a southern vacation island, to close a casino bar for guests that paid out winnings in tokens that could be redeemed for hotel rooms and spent in resort shops.
State media said patrols in the southern island province of Hainan would be able to board foreign ships that stopped in its waters or violated other regulations.
Growth in pivotal Guangdong province slowed and business on HainanIsland was brought to a virtual standstill by a real-estate bubble, now once more a problem.