TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Coast Guard Administration on Tuesday said five Chinese government vessels operating off eastern Taiwan falsely asserted jurisdiction in radio communications with passing merchant ships.
The agency said China used Japan-Philippines negotiations as a pretext to send coast guard and maritime vessels into waters off eastern Taiwan. Taiwan preemptively deployed patrol vessels to monitor and shadow the ships throughout their transit, it said.
During the operation, Chinese vessels radioed three passing merchant ships to request information such as ports of departure and destination, as well as crew numbers. Taiwan Coast Guard vessels responded by warning the ships that China was breaching international law and that they did not need to respond to the harassment.
The Coast Guard said the patrol vessel Changbin intercepted a transmission at about 1 p.m. Sunday in which Haixun 06 queried a Singapore-flagged merchant ship roughly 39 nautical miles (72 km) southwest of Eluanbi, or 5 nautical miles (9 km) outside Taiwan’s restricted waters.
At 6:08 a.m. Tuesday, the patrol vessel Hualien overheard Haixun 06 questioning a Liberia-flagged vessel about 34 nautical miles (62 km) east of Suao. At 8:43 a.m. Tuesday, the patrol vessel Yilan intercepted a call from the same Chinese ship to a Benin-flagged vessel 33 nautical miles (61 km) east of Sandiaojiao.
The agency said it issued a radio warning to the Chinese vessels, saying, “This is the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of China (Taiwan). China has no jurisdiction here. Please do not harass vessels in transit. Your actions violate international law. I demand that you leave immediately.”
Taiwanese Coast Guard vessels also broadcast messages to passing merchant ships, telling them that China had no sovereignty rights or jurisdiction in the area and advising them to maintain normal navigation and ignore Chinese radio calls. Ships were also instructed to contact Taiwan’s coast guard if assistance was needed.
The Coast Guard said all vessels transiting the area continued normal operations and that none were boarded, approached, or otherwise interfered with by the Chinese vessels. By 11 a.m. Tuesday, the Chinese vessels had moved northward away from Taiwan and were approximately 40 nautical miles (74 km) east of Pengjia Islet, or 12 nautical miles (22 km) beyond Taiwan’s restricted waters, while remaining under Coast Guard surveillance.
The agency reiterated its position that “where the Coast Guard is, sovereignty stands,” and said it remains committed to safeguarding freedom of navigation and will expel any foreign vessel attempting to assert jurisdiction in Taiwan’s waters. It added that it is fully prepared to counter China’s increasing use of gray-zone tactics and cognitive warfare aimed at creating a false impression of Chinese jurisdiction.
