Taiwan Rejects Chinese Maritime Patrol, Vows to Defend Sovereignty

Taiwan’s coast guard has asserted that the island’s maritime sovereignty cannot be "violated" through what it described as Chinese attempts to create a false impression of jurisdiction, following the conclusion of a Chinese patrol operation east of Taiwan.

China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, reacted strongly after Japan and the Philippines announced last month that they would begin formal talks on maritime boundaries — a move Beijing interpreted as involving waters off Taiwan.

Late on Saturday, Chinese state media reported that vessels had been deployed to conduct a "special maritime traffic law-enforcement operation" and inspect shipping activity in waters east of Taiwan in response to the Japanese and Philippine announcement.

By late Wednesday, Chinese state media said the patrol had concluded after authorities had "inspected 198 passing vessels and rectified violations involving three ships", while also conducting a hydrographic survey and patrolling areas containing undersea cables.

Taiwan rejected China's claims of authority in those waters. The island’s coast guard said Beijing holds no jurisdiction there and warned that if Chinese vessels enter the area, Taiwan’s forces would "forcefully drive them away, and maintain the freedom and safety of navigation".

"Our nation's maritime sovereignty cannot be violated," Taiwan's coast guard said in a statement. "Any country that asserts jurisdiction will be expelled without exception."

Chinese state media also released a map depicting the operation, showing arrows surrounding Taiwan.

Taiwan said earlier this week that three passing merchant vessels had been "harassed" by the Chinese coast guard, which requested information on their origin and destination while claiming jurisdiction over the waters.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Taiwan Coast Guard spokesman Hsieh Ching-chin said some of the ships responded to Chinese requests by providing details such as their next port of call.

China "has no sovereign rights whatsoever in the waters east of Taiwan", he said.

"Our Coast Guard Administration will, regardless of nationality, expel without exception any vessel involved in asserting jurisdiction, in order to ⁠defend our sovereignty," Hsieh added.

Separately, Kuan Bi-ling, who heads Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council and oversees the coast guard, said Chinese "official" vessels entered restricted waters near Itu Aba — a Taiwan-controlled island in the South China Sea — on Thursday.

In a post on X, the council said the vessels remained inside the restricted zone for roughly 15 minutes before departing, describing the incident as a "continuous escalation of provocations".

Authorities did not specify how many vessels were involved or whether they belonged to China’s coast guard.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Beijing does not recognise Taiwan’s sovereignty claims and routinely conducts military activity around the island, with warships and aircraft operating nearby on an almost daily basis.

Taiwan’s government maintains that only the island’s people can determine their future. President Lai Ching-te has repeatedly proposed talks with China, but Beijing has rejected those overtures and continues to describe him as a "separatist".

(Reuters reported)