Taiwan’s coast guard stated that the island’s maritime sovereignty cannot be undermined by China’s attempts to project a misleading sense of authority, following the conclusion of a Chinese patrol near Taiwan’s eastern coast.
China, which regards the self-governed island of Taiwan as part of its territory, reacted negatively after Japan and the Philippines announced last month that they would launch formal discussions on their maritime boundaries, a move Beijing believes involves waters adjacent to Taiwan.
Late on Saturday, Chinese state media reported that ships had been sent to carry out a “special maritime traffic law-enforcement operation” and inspect shipping in waters east of Taiwan in response to the Japanese and Philippine announcement.
Late on Wednesday, Chinese state media said the patrol had ended, after it had “inspected 198 passing vessels and rectified violations involving three ships”, carried out a hydrographic survey and patrolled areas where undersea cables are located.
Taiwan’s coast guard said Beijing has no jurisdiction in those waters and that whenever Chinese ships appear, Taiwan’s own vessels will “forcefully drive them away, and maintain the freedom and safety of navigation”.
Chinese state media put out a picture of a basic map of its ships’ operations, showing arrows encircling Taiwan.
Merchant Ships ‘Harassed’ By China
Taiwan said this week that three passing merchant ships in the area were “harassed” by the Chinese coast guard, which asked them for information about their point of origin and destination and claimed jurisdiction.
Taiwan Coast Guard spokesman Hsieh Ching-chin told reporters on Thursday that some of those ships did respond to the Chinese vessels with information like their next port of call.
Cross-Strait Tensions
Separately, Taiwan’s coast guard said two Chinese government ships had intruded on Thursday for 15 minutes into restricted waters near Itu Aba deep in the South China Sea, getting as close as 2.1 nautical miles to the Taiwan-controlled island.
The ships left after being warned and challenged by Taiwan Coast Guard vessels, it said in a statement.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chinese forces have previously generally left Itu Aba alone.
China recognises no sovereignty claimed by Taiwan, and Chinese warships and warplanes operate around the island on an almost daily basis.
Taiwan’s government says only the island’s people can decide their future, and President Lai Ching-te has repeatedly offered talks with China. Beijing has rebuffed Lai, saying he is a “separatist”.
(With inputs from Reuters)
