China Launches New Coast Guard Patrol East of Taiwan
BEIJING-China launched a new coast guard patrol east of Taiwan on Saturday, prompting a strong protest from Taipei, which condemned the operation as an illegal assertion of jurisdiction and warned that it threatened regional stability.
China’s Coast Guard said the patrol would carry out what it described as “law enforcement patrols” in waters it considers under its jurisdiction. In a statement, the agency said it would strengthen such operations to safeguard what it called China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
The move marks the second deployment in roughly a month of Chinese coast guard vessels to waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast. Unlike the near-daily military activities conducted by the People’s Liberation Army around Taiwan, Beijing has increasingly relied on coast guard vessels to reinforce its territorial claims, a strategy Taiwanese officials describe as “lawfare” aimed at creating a legal basis for Chinese actions.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council rejected Beijing’s claims, saying China has neither sovereignty nor jurisdiction over waters east of Taiwan and that its coast guard has no law enforcement authority in the area. The council described the patrol as an illegal expansion of power that violates international law and undermines regional peace and stability.
Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said it was monitoring two Chinese coast guard vessels involved in the operation and had dispatched two Taiwanese ships to shadow them. By mid-morning, the Chinese vessels were about 54 nautical miles east of Hualien, home to one of Taiwan’s major air bases, but remained outside Taiwan’s restricted waters.
The coast guard said it would continue taking all necessary measures to monitor Chinese vessels and respond to any activities it considers harassment, while safeguarding Taiwan’s maritime security and sovereignty.
The latest operation follows a similar patrol conducted by China in June, which drew concern from the United States and several European partners, including France, Germany and Britain. Beijing said that deployment was a response to Japan and the Philippines announcing formal discussions on maritime boundaries, which China argued involved waters connected to its claims around Taiwan.
Earlier this week, Taiwan instructed commercial and civilian vessels operating off its eastern coast to refuse any boarding or inspection requests by the Chinese Coast Guard. Authorities said Taiwanese coast guard ships would intervene if necessary to prevent such actions.
The dispute reflects broader tensions across the Taiwan Strait, where China continues to increase military and coast guard activities while maintaining that Taiwan is part of its territory. Taiwan, which is democratically governed, rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and insists only its own government has the authority to exercise jurisdiction over the island and its surrounding waters.
On Thursday, China’s Ministry of Natural Resources published an English-language legal opinion criticizing maritime boundary discussions between Japan and the Philippines. The ministry argued that any negotiations involving waters claimed by Beijing should include China rather than Taiwan and called on other countries not to support the bilateral talks.
The latest coast guard deployment is likely to add to regional tensions as China continues to expand the use of civilian maritime agencies alongside military operations to advance its territorial claims in the western Pacific.
