China steps up maritime patrols east of Taiwan despite Taipei’s protests

China’s coast guard has launched another patrol east of Taiwan, extending a maritime presence that Beijing has been building despite repeated protests from Taipei.

The operation involved the patrol ship Putuoshan and was described by Coast Guard spokesperson Jiang Lue as a routine law-enforcement patrol conducted “in accordance with the law.” He said the activity aimed to maintain navigation order in the waters, where China has intensified operations since August.

“The China Coast Guard will continue strengthening law-enforcement patrols in waters under China’s jurisdiction and firmly safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” Jiang said.

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The China Coast Guard will continue strengthening law-enforcement patrols in waters under China’s jurisdiction and firmly safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

China’s state-run People’s Daily also reported that the Second Institute of Oceanography, under the Ministry of Natural Resources, conducted a comprehensive marine geophysical survey east of Taiwan from Aug. 10 to Aug. 31. The work collected data on the seabed, sediment layers, deep geological structures and geophysical fields.

Military affairs experts cited in the report said the information could prove useful for future submarine and anti-submarine warfare operations. The newspaper said the data would help Beijing better understand the area’s geological and geophysical features and provide a scientific basis for managing waters it considers under its jurisdiction.

Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said that at about 11 a.m. local time, the Putuoshan and Daishan were sailing about 194.4 kilometers and 137 kilometers east of Green Island. Taiwan deployed the Ji’an and other vessels to keep close watch. The island’s maritime authority said Taiwan has sovereign rights and jurisdiction in its exclusive economic zone east of the island, while China has no jurisdiction over surrounding Taiwanese waters. It accused Beijing of using harassment tactics and politically manipulated claims, including references to “Taiwan, China” and “law-enforcement patrols.”

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The intention of China to resort to harassment tactics, such as sailing in these waters, and to maliciously disseminate politically manipulated false information not only departs from reality, but also cannot alter this incontrovertible fact.