Two Chinese coast guard ships were sitting 54 nautical miles east of Hualien, on Taiwan’s east coast, when Taiwan’s Coast Guard put out its statement on Saturday, July 4. Taiwan had two of its own vessels shadowing them. Hualien is home to a major air base, and the Chinese ships were outside restricted waters.
China had announced earlier that day that it was launching a new coast guard patrol east of Taiwan. The fleet would carry out “law enforcement patrols” there, the China Coast Guard said, and would strengthen such patrols in what it called China’s jurisdictional waters. It promised to “firmly safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”
Taipei’s answer was sharp. The government called the patrol an “illegal expansion of power in violation of international law and a disruption of regional stability.” Taiwan’s Coast Guard said it would “continue to employ all necessary measures to forcefully expel Chinese vessels harassing our waters.”
The second patrol in about a month
It is the second time in roughly a month that China has sent coast guard ships off Taiwan’s east coast. A task force last month had caused alarm in some Western capitals, and the dispute has pulled in the United States, France, Germany and Britain. China said the June operation answered an announcement by Japan and the Philippines that they would begin formal talks on their maritime boundaries, which Beijing considered to involve Chinese waters off Taiwan.
Beijing treats Taiwan as its own territory, and its military operates near the island almost daily. Lately it has also been using the coast guard to press its claims, a practice Taiwan calls “lawfare.” Taiwan rejects China’s claims. It says Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty or jurisdiction over the island or its waters.
On Wednesday Taiwan told its ships off the east coast to ignore any boarding and inspection demands from the China Coast Guard. Taiwanese coast guard vessels would step in if necessary to stop it, the government said.
The day before the new patrol, China’s Ministry of Natural Resources published in English what it called a “legal opinion” on the Japan-Philippines talks. Japan and the Philippines should discuss the issue with China and not engage with Taiwan, it said. “All other states shall refrain from providing assistance to Japan and the Philippines.”
Patrols continued into September
The patrols did not stop. On September 29 the China Coast Guard said a task group led by the CCGS Zhujiajian had carried out routine law-enforcement patrols in waters east of Taiwan. Chen Xiangmiao of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies told the Global Times the approach was aimed at “collusion” between Taiwan independence forces and the Philippines, and warned that the coast guard could move closer to the island if red lines were crossed.
Sources
- China launches coast guard patrol east of Taiwan
- China Coast Guard patrols waters east of Taiwan island; move signals warning to separatist forces, expert says
