In brief
On Nov. 1 Taiwan’s Coast Guard alleged that China’s Coast Guard harassed ships off its east coast, prompting Taipei to deploy its own vessels for oversight. Taiwan insists it has sovereign rights over its exclusive economic zone, while China’s patrols have intensified since June and included a radio broadcast offering aid to an unidentified fishing trawler. The incident underscores unresolved tensions over maritime jurisdiction and potential blockade preparations.
On Nov. 1 Taiwan’s Coast Guard said the Chinese Coast Guard was harassing shipping off the island’s east coast during a new patrol, a claim that Beijing denies and that underscores unresolved tensions over maritime jurisdiction.
China has stepped up coast guard activity off the island’s east coast since June, with regular patrols that the Taiwanese navy sees as practising for a possible blockade. Taiwan responded by sending its own vessels to monitor the situation.
The Taiwanese Coast Guard described the Chinese actions as a “clear expansion of power that violate international law, undermine regional peace and stability, and deviate from reality.”
Our country holds sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the exclusive economic zone east of Taiwan, and China has absolutely no jurisdiction over any of Taiwan's waters.The Coast Guard added that China had broadcast a radio message claiming to carry out law‑enforcement duties and offering help, targeting an unidentified fishing trawler, though it did not specify the intended recipient of the broadcast.
China also sent another Coast Guard ship close to the Taiwan‑controlled Pratas Islands, which lie roughly 400 km (250 miles) from the island. Taiwan’s Coast Guard said it had expelled Chinese coast guard vessels from Pratas waters 13 times this year. The Pratas are unpopulated but considered strategically vulnerable due to their distance from Taiwan.
The incident comes amid a broader concern among security analysts that Taiwan’s eastern waters, critical for wartime supply routes from allied nations, could become a flashpoint if China seeks to exert control over maritime traffic in the region.
While Taipei underscores its sovereign maritime rights, China maintains that Taiwan is part of its territory and that its coast guard patrols are lawful. Both sides continue to hold divergent views on the legality of each other’s movements, leaving the precise nature of the recent harassment and its implications for regional stability unresolved.
