China Expands Maritime Patrols Near Taiwan, Raising Regional Tensions
Taiwan's defense ministry is condemning a series of recent Chinese maritime operations, including Beijing's newly announced "special maritime law enforcement operation" east of Taiwan.
Title: Taiwan Rebukes Beijing Over Maritime Incursions
REPORTER:
Taiwan’s defense ministry is rebuking Beijing for a series of incursions carried out by China’s coast guard, including Beijing’s announcement on Saturday of a “special maritime law enforcement operation.”
Wellington Koo (DEFENSE MINISTER):
First, this was a provocative act.
Second, [China] claiming that the waters to our east fall under their jurisdiction is a cognitive warfare tactic.
This is a serious infringement of our national sovereignty.
We must continue close intelligence sharing with the Coast Guard [Administration].
REPORTER:
Defense officials reject China’s claim of jurisdiction over the waters east of Taiwan. This comes after a series of gray-zone maritime incursions over the past few weeks. Gray-zone incursions are hostile actions that don’t rise to the level of outright conflict.
REPORTER:
Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling made a Facebook post detailing some of China’s recent gray-zone incidents.
On May 7 and 14 – Research vessel Tongji took provocative actions
May 7 – Hengchun
May 14 - Hualien
June 1 – Authorities announced law enforcement patrols to Taiwan’s east, sending two ships to the area, though neither entered restricted waters.
June 3 – A Chinese coast guard ship aggressively interfered with a maritime drill and a division of four Chinese vessels operated off the coast of Kinmen.
June 5 – Two Chinese ships — one research vessel and one coast guard vessel — crossed into restricted waters around Pratas Island, also known as Dongsha.
June 6 – Chinese authorities announce a special law enforcement operation east of Taiwan, with a division of four coast guard ships heading to the area from the southwest.
REPORTER:
REPORTER:
This all comes right after Japan and the Philippines started talks on marking the boundaries of their own exclusive economic zones. The area in question is also claimed by Taiwan — and China, which views Taiwan as its own territory. While Taiwan’s foreign ministry urged Tokyo and Manila to respect Taiwan’s interests, China has gone one step further and used those talks as a pretext for its own claims to the area, according to Taiwan’s defense officials. A government spokesperson has said that Taipei would not be subject to any legal agreement that comes out of the talks.
Su Tzu-yun (DEFENSE ANALYST, INDSR):
Beijing is using the EEZ issue as an opportunity to deploy its coast guard vessels to undermine cooperation between Japan and the Philippines. China is also trying to send a message to the international community that Taiwan is part of China and therefore any discussions regarding EEZ matters should be conducted with Beijing and that agreements that Taipei has previously reached with Tokyo and Manila should be overturned.
REPORTER:
This is far from the only territorial dispute in the area but growing regional tensions could turn these minor clashes into something much more serious.
Kris Ma and Lery Hiciano, for TaiwanPlus.
