diff --git a/flink-annotations/pom.xml b/flink-annotations/pom.xml
index 19af246fc07c9..effa65998f344 100644
--- a/flink-annotations/pom.xml
+++ b/flink-annotations/pom.xml
@@ -34,15 +34,4 @@ under the License.
 
 	<packaging>jar</packaging>
 
-	<build>
-		<plugins>
-			<plugin>
-				<groupId>com.github.siom79.japicmp</groupId>
-				<artifactId>japicmp-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-				<configuration>
-					<skip>true</skip>
-				</configuration>
-			</plugin>
-		</plugins>
-	</build>
 </project>
diff --git a/flink-batch-connectors/flink-hadoop-compatibility/pom.xml b/flink-batch-connectors/flink-hadoop-compatibility/pom.xml
index 6e69cfbe2b865..5bc1852141b0a 100644
--- a/flink-batch-connectors/flink-hadoop-compatibility/pom.xml
+++ b/flink-batch-connectors/flink-hadoop-compatibility/pom.xml
@@ -74,4 +74,16 @@ under the License.
 			<scope>test</scope>
 		</dependency>
 	</dependencies>
+
+
+	<build>
+		<plugins>
+			<!-- activate API compatibility checks -->
+			<plugin>
+				<groupId>com.github.siom79.japicmp</groupId>
+				<artifactId>japicmp-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+			</plugin>
+		</plugins>
+	</build>
+
 </project>
diff --git a/flink-core/pom.xml b/flink-core/pom.xml
index 3c9e61e7ee651..7389ef4667186 100644
--- a/flink-core/pom.xml
+++ b/flink-core/pom.xml
@@ -108,7 +108,8 @@ under the License.
 
 	<build>
 		<plugins>
-			<!-- Exclude removed CONFIG_KEY from ccheck -->
+
+			<!-- activate API compatibility checks -->
 			<plugin>
 				<groupId>com.github.siom79.japicmp</groupId>
 				<artifactId>japicmp-maven-plugin</artifactId>
@@ -119,14 +120,6 @@ under the License.
 						</excludes>
 					</parameter>
 				</configuration>
-				<executions>
-					<execution>
-						<phase>verify</phase>
-						<goals>
-							<goal>cmp</goal>
-						</goals>
-					</execution>
-				</executions>
 			</plugin>
 
 			<!-- publish some test base classes -->
diff --git a/flink-java/pom.xml b/flink-java/pom.xml
index df320b4a67c48..6924da8bbedca 100644
--- a/flink-java/pom.xml
+++ b/flink-java/pom.xml
@@ -77,6 +77,13 @@ under the License.
 
 	<build>
 		<plugins>
+
+			<!-- activate API compatibility checks -->
+			<plugin>
+				<groupId>com.github.siom79.japicmp</groupId>
+				<artifactId>japicmp-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+			</plugin>
+
 			<!-- Because flink-scala and flink-avro uses it in tests -->
 			<plugin>
 				<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
diff --git a/flink-metrics/flink-metrics-core/pom.xml b/flink-metrics/flink-metrics-core/pom.xml
index a61c6d33c852b..2383fb695f8e5 100644
--- a/flink-metrics/flink-metrics-core/pom.xml
+++ b/flink-metrics/flink-metrics-core/pom.xml
@@ -32,4 +32,14 @@ under the License.
 	<artifactId>flink-metrics-core</artifactId>
 	<name>flink-metrics-core</name>
 
+	<build>
+		<plugins>
+			<!-- activate API compatibility checks -->
+			<plugin>
+				<groupId>com.github.siom79.japicmp</groupId>
+				<artifactId>japicmp-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+			</plugin>
+		</plugins>
+	</build>
+
 </project>
diff --git a/flink-scala/pom.xml b/flink-scala/pom.xml
index 18b4e37db6f5a..88f49e59514f2 100644
--- a/flink-scala/pom.xml
+++ b/flink-scala/pom.xml
@@ -106,6 +106,13 @@ under the License.
 
 	<build>
 		<plugins>
+
+			<!-- activate API compatibility checks -->
+			<plugin>
+				<groupId>com.github.siom79.japicmp</groupId>
+				<artifactId>japicmp-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+			</plugin>
+
 			<!-- Scala Compiler -->
 			<plugin>
 				<groupId>net.alchim31.maven</groupId>
diff --git a/flink-shaded-curator/pom.xml b/flink-shaded-curator/pom.xml
index 6142873616ec2..274082c860b40 100644
--- a/flink-shaded-curator/pom.xml
+++ b/flink-shaded-curator/pom.xml
@@ -38,16 +38,4 @@
 
 	<packaging>pom</packaging>
 
-	<build>
-		<plugins>
-			<plugin>
-				<groupId>com.github.siom79.japicmp</groupId>
-				<artifactId>japicmp-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-				<configuration>
-					<skip>true</skip>
-				</configuration>
-			</plugin>
-		</plugins>
-	</build>
-
 </project>
diff --git a/flink-shaded-hadoop/pom.xml b/flink-shaded-hadoop/pom.xml
index f8fa38eb823e8..9564bdd48af74 100644
--- a/flink-shaded-hadoop/pom.xml
+++ b/flink-shaded-hadoop/pom.xml
@@ -163,14 +163,6 @@ under the License.
 				</executions>
 			</plugin>
 
-			<plugin>
-				<groupId>com.github.siom79.japicmp</groupId>
-				<artifactId>japicmp-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-				<configuration>
-					<skip>true</skip>
-				</configuration>
-			</plugin>
-
 		</plugins>
 	</build>
 
diff --git a/flink-streaming-java/pom.xml b/flink-streaming-java/pom.xml
index 45fb0cf86e19c..9ca3e92936cf5 100644
--- a/flink-streaming-java/pom.xml
+++ b/flink-streaming-java/pom.xml
@@ -95,6 +95,13 @@ under the License.
 
 	<build>
 		<plugins>
+
+			<!-- activate API compatibility checks -->
+			<plugin>
+				<groupId>com.github.siom79.japicmp</groupId>
+				<artifactId>japicmp-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+			</plugin>
+
 			<!-- disable fork reuse for the streaming project, because of
 			incorrect declaration of tests -->
 			<plugin>
@@ -104,6 +111,7 @@ under the License.
 					<reuseForks>false</reuseForks>
 				</configuration>
 			</plugin>
+
 			<plugin>
 				<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
 				<artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
diff --git a/flink-streaming-scala/pom.xml b/flink-streaming-scala/pom.xml
index d86bb60473314..26f7cc2cf1dbf 100644
--- a/flink-streaming-scala/pom.xml
+++ b/flink-streaming-scala/pom.xml
@@ -215,13 +215,14 @@ under the License.
 				</configuration>
 			</plugin>
 
-			<!-- Exclude generated classes from api compatibility checks -->
+			<!-- activate API compatibility checks -->
 			<plugin>
 				<groupId>com.github.siom79.japicmp</groupId>
 				<artifactId>japicmp-maven-plugin</artifactId>
 				<configuration>
 					<parameter>
 						<excludes>
+							<!-- Exclude generated classes from api compatibility checks -->
 							<exclude>*\$\$anon\$*</exclude>
 						</excludes>
 					</parameter>
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 93d3b787fb9f4..32e7730219e8e 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -765,63 +765,6 @@ under the License.
 
 	<build>
 		<plugins>
-			<plugin>
-				<groupId>com.github.siom79.japicmp</groupId>
-				<artifactId>japicmp-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-				<version>0.7.0</version>
-				<configuration>
-					<oldVersion>
-						<dependency>
-							<groupId>org.apache.flink</groupId>
-							<artifactId>${project.artifactId}</artifactId>
-							<version>1.0.0</version>
-							<type>${project.packaging}</type>
-						</dependency>
-					</oldVersion>
-					<newVersion>
-						<file>
-							<path>${project.build.directory}/${project.artifactId}-${project.version}.${project.packaging}</path>
-						</file>
-					</newVersion>
-					<parameter>
-						<onlyModified>true</onlyModified>
-						<includes>
-							<include>@org.apache.flink.annotation.Public</include>
-						</includes>
-						<excludes>
-							<exclude>@org.apache.flink.annotation.PublicEvolving</exclude>
-							<exclude>@org.apache.flink.annotation.Internal</exclude>
-						</excludes>
-						<accessModifier>public</accessModifier>
-						<breakBuildOnModifications>false</breakBuildOnModifications>
-						<breakBuildOnBinaryIncompatibleModifications>true</breakBuildOnBinaryIncompatibleModifications>
-						<breakBuildOnSourceIncompatibleModifications>true</breakBuildOnSourceIncompatibleModifications>
-						<onlyBinaryIncompatible>false</onlyBinaryIncompatible>
-						<includeSynthetic>true</includeSynthetic>
-						<ignoreMissingClasses>false</ignoreMissingClasses>
-						<skipPomModules>true</skipPomModules>
-						<!-- Don't break build on newly added maven modules -->
-						<ignoreNonResolvableArtifacts>true</ignoreNonResolvableArtifacts>
-					</parameter>
-					<skip>false</skip>
-					<dependencies>
-						<dependency>
-							<groupId>org.apache.flink</groupId>
-							<artifactId>flink-annotations</artifactId>
-							<version>${project.version}</version>
-						</dependency>
-					</dependencies>
-				</configuration>
-				<executions>
-					<execution>
-						<phase>verify</phase>
-						<goals>
-							<goal>cmp</goal>
-						</goals>
-					</execution>
-				</executions>
-			</plugin>
-
 			<plugin>
 				<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
 				<artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
@@ -1128,20 +1071,19 @@ under the License.
 
 		</plugins>
 
-		<!--
-		Disable git-commit-id-plugin in eclipse
-		See https://github.com/stratosphere/stratosphere/pull/231#issuecomment-27896187
-		-->
+		<!-- Plugin configurations for plugins activated in sub-projects --> 
+
 		<pluginManagement>
 			<plugins>
-				<!--set maven shade plugin version-->
+
+				<!-- Pin the version of the maven shade plugin -->
 				<plugin>
 					<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
 					<artifactId>maven-shade-plugin</artifactId>
 					<version>2.4.1</version>
 				</plugin>
-				<!--This plugin's configuration is used to store Eclipse m2e settings
-					only. It has no influence on the Maven build itself. -->
+				
+				<!-- Disable certain plugins in Eclipse -->
 				<plugin>
 					<groupId>org.eclipse.m2e</groupId>
 					<artifactId>lifecycle-mapping</artifactId>
@@ -1151,15 +1093,9 @@ under the License.
 							<pluginExecutions>
 								<pluginExecution>
 									<pluginExecutionFilter>
-										<groupId>
-											pl.project13.maven
-										</groupId>
-										<artifactId>
-											git-commit-id-plugin
-										</artifactId>
-										<versionRange>
-											[2.1.5,)
-										</versionRange>
+										<groupId>pl.project13.maven</groupId>
+										<artifactId>git-commit-id-plugin</artifactId>
+										<versionRange>[2.1.5,)</versionRange>
 										<goals>
 											<goal>revision</goal>
 										</goals>
@@ -1170,15 +1106,9 @@ under the License.
 								</pluginExecution>
 								<pluginExecution>
 									<pluginExecutionFilter>
-										<groupId>
-											org.apache.maven.plugins
-										</groupId>
-										<artifactId>
-											maven-checkstyle-plugin
-										</artifactId>
-										<versionRange>
-											[2.12.1,)
-										</versionRange>
+										<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+										<artifactId>maven-checkstyle-plugin</artifactId>
+										<versionRange>[2.12.1,)</versionRange>
 										<goals>
 											<goal>check</goal>
 										</goals>
@@ -1248,7 +1178,67 @@ under the License.
 					<artifactId>scala-maven-plugin</artifactId>
 					<version>3.2.2</version>
 				</plugin>
+
+				<!-- Configuration for the binary compatibility checker -->
+				<plugin>
+					<groupId>com.github.siom79.japicmp</groupId>
+					<artifactId>japicmp-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+					<version>0.7.0</version>
+					<configuration>
+						<oldVersion>
+							<dependency>
+								<groupId>org.apache.flink</groupId>
+								<artifactId>${project.artifactId}</artifactId>
+								<version>1.0.0</version>
+								<type>${project.packaging}</type>
+							</dependency>
+						</oldVersion>
+						<newVersion>
+							<file>
+								<path>${project.build.directory}/${project.artifactId}-${project.version}.${project.packaging}</path>
+							</file>
+						</newVersion>
+						<parameter>
+							<onlyModified>true</onlyModified>
+							<includes>
+								<include>@org.apache.flink.annotation.Public</include>
+							</includes>
+							<excludes>
+								<exclude>@org.apache.flink.annotation.PublicEvolving</exclude>
+								<exclude>@org.apache.flink.annotation.Internal</exclude>
+							</excludes>
+							<accessModifier>public</accessModifier>
+							<breakBuildOnModifications>false</breakBuildOnModifications>
+							<breakBuildOnBinaryIncompatibleModifications>true</breakBuildOnBinaryIncompatibleModifications>
+							<breakBuildOnSourceIncompatibleModifications>true</breakBuildOnSourceIncompatibleModifications>
+							<onlyBinaryIncompatible>false</onlyBinaryIncompatible>
+							<includeSynthetic>true</includeSynthetic>
+							<ignoreMissingClasses>false</ignoreMissingClasses>
+							<skipPomModules>true</skipPomModules>
+							<!-- Don't break build on newly added maven modules -->
+							<ignoreNonResolvableArtifacts>true</ignoreNonResolvableArtifacts>
+						</parameter>
+						<skip>false</skip>
+						<dependencies>
+							<dependency>
+								<groupId>org.apache.flink</groupId>
+								<artifactId>flink-annotations</artifactId>
+								<version>${project.version}</version>
+							</dependency>
+						</dependencies>
+					</configuration>
+					<executions>
+						<execution>
+							<phase>verify</phase>
+							<goals>
+								<goal>cmp</goal>
+							</goals>
+						</execution>
+					</executions>
+				</plugin>
+
 			</plugins>
 		</pluginManagement>
 	</build>
+
 </project>