Taiwan accuses China of harassment as coast guard ships press east coast and Pratas

Taiwan has accused China of harassment after Chinese coast guard ships carried out a new patrol off the island's east coast and another Chinese vessel entered restricted waters near the Taiwan-administered Pratas Islands in the South China Sea, both on Saturday, 31 October. Beijing says the patrols are routine law enforcement in waters under its jurisdiction, a claim Taipei rejects.

On Monday, the head of Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council, Kuan Bi-ling, said the island must strengthen its own maritime surveillance in response. "Taiwan's ocean must be surveyed by ourselves, and we must master our own information," she told a sea-drone forum in Tainan, according to a report carried by National Security News.

What happened

Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration said two Chinese coast guard ships, the Hushi (CCG 1308) and the Meishan (CCG 2303), operated east of Taiwan on Saturday, and that it sent its own ships, including the Ji An, to shadow them, the Philippine Canadian Inquirer reported. The Taiwanese coast guard accused China of using radio broadcasts to ships at sea to suggest it had enforcement powers in waters Taipei treats as its exclusive economic zone. "China has absolutely no jurisdiction over any of Taiwan's waters," it said.

Early the same day, a Chinese coast guard vessel entered restricted waters near the Pratas Islands, more than 400 km south-west of Taiwan's main island, and was confronted by a Taiwanese patrol ship and told to leave, the Associated Press reported. At the closest point the two ships were about one nautical mile (1.9 km) apart. Taiwan's coast guard said it was the 13th such intrusion near Pratas this year, involving 16 vessels, and called on Beijing "to immediately cease these pointless acts of harassment".

What Beijing says

The China Coast Guard said it had sent a group of vessels on a "routine law enforcement patrol" east of Taiwan, and that it "will continue to intensify its law enforcement patrols in waters under its jurisdiction", AP reported. Chinese state media broadcast footage of a coast guard ship radioing a message describing its law enforcement work and offering assistance if needed; a fishing boat was visible in the footage, but it was not clear whether the message was aimed at it.

China claims Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take it. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's claim.

Why it matters

Chinese coast guard patrols east of Taiwan have become regular since June, and Taipei fears they are a rehearsal for a possible maritime blockade, according to the National Security News report. Taipei regards its eastern waters as important supply routes for international aid in a conflict or blockade, the Philippine Canadian Inquirer reported. Taiwanese security officials have warned that a mix of Chinese coast guard, military and civilian ships could let Beijing tighten control of the surrounding seas "without immediately resorting to military force", the Philippine Canadian Inquirer reported. In June, France, Germany and Britain issued a joint statement saying Chinese activity east of Taiwan endangered regional stability, AP noted.

Taiwan's defence minister, Wellington Koo, said in June that such moves were "a provocative act" and "cognitive warfare", comparing them to "casting a large spider's web over the area".

For India, any blockade or conflict around Taiwan would hit supply chains it is trying to build. Tata Electronics' planned Rs 91,000-crore semiconductor fab at Dholera in Gujarat, India's first, relies on technology licensed from Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), under an agreement the companies announced on 26 September 2024.

What happens next

Beijing has said it will step up the patrols, and Taiwan says it will keep tracking and expelling Chinese ships. Kuan said the coast guard needs more equipment and better intelligence to detect threats earlier, and Taiwan is developing unmanned surface vessels to watch shipping around the island.