TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on Saturday warned that China recently ramped up maritime activities near the First Island Chain.
Wu said on X that Taiwanese intelligence showed China “has deployed over 100 vessels around the #1stIslandChain over the past few days.” He added, “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability.”
The Coast Guard Administration said on Thursday that it detected the Chinese research vessel Tongji conducting illegal survey activities in Taiwan’s waters. The Coast Guard deployed multiple vessels to monitor the ship for five days and forcibly drive it away from territorial waters.
The Coast Guard said China has more than 120 oceanographic research vessels of various types and has been increasingly expanding its activities across the Indo-Pacific, according to CNA. Through intelligence and reconnaissance, Taiwan has tracked around 41 Chinese research vessels recently operating near Taiwan.
According to Coast Guard data, the operational range of Chinese research vessels over the past three years has expanded from the First Island Chain to the Second Island Chain, including Guam, and even the Third Island Chain near Hawaii, per CNA.
Coast Guard Administration Director-General Chang Chung-lung (張忠龍) said last month that the Coast Guard has a complete standard operating procedure to handle such incidents, including recording the entire process to collect evidence. It also engages with international media to inform other countries about China’s use of gray-zone tactics in these areas, he added.
