TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A leading US foreign policy expert has warned that China’s increasing encroachment and gray-zone activities represent a dangerous escalation in pressure against Taiwan.
In an email interview with CNA on Saturday, Bonnie Glaser, director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund, said Beijing is intensifying efforts to assert jurisdiction in waters surrounding Taiwan while increasing pressure on countries that strengthen ties with Taipei.
Glaser pointed to several recent incidents involving the Chinese Coast Guard and other government vessels operating near Taiwan-controlled territories, including waters around Taiping Island and the Dongsha Islands.
“In a particularly worrying incident, the Chinese Coast Guard even interfered with commercial shipping off the coast of Taiwan, claiming jurisdiction and demanding information on the ships’ origin and destination,” she said. “This escalation is a dangerous trend.”
Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said its vessels responded by informing the cargo ships that China was violating international law and advising them to disregard the broadcasts.
Chinese maritime activities have also expanded elsewhere in the region. Earlier this month, Chinese Coast Guard vessels entered Japan’s exclusive economic zone south of Yonaguni Island in Okinawa Prefecture and remained active in nearby waters through June 8, according to Japanese and Taiwanese authorities.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the incidents and called on the international community to jointly oppose what it described as China’s illegal actions. Glaser suggested that recent diplomatic developments between Washington and Beijing could factor into Beijing’s calculations, per CNA.
She said that as the US and China seek what both sides have described as “constructive strategic stability,” Chinese leaders may feel emboldened to intensify pressure campaigns against Taiwan.
Glaser’s comments came amid reports that four New Zealand lawmakers were barred from entering China, Hong Kong, and Macau for one year after visiting Taiwan in May, highlighting Beijing’s broader efforts to discourage international engagement with Taiwan.
