Taiwan ships should ignore boarding requests by China coast guard, Taipei says

Taiwanese ships operating off the island's east coast should ignore any boarding and inspection demands from China's Coast Guard, a senior Taiwanese official stated Wednesday. If necessary, Taiwanese Coast Guard vessels will intervene to prevent such actions, signaling a firm stance against Chinese maritime patrols.

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If the situation is urgent, Coast Guard vessels will sail between the two ships to separate them.

The directive follows China's deployment of Coast Guard ships last month for what it termed a "special maritime traffic law-enforcement operation" in the waters east of Taiwan. Beijing views the democratically governed island as its territory. Taipei condemned the operation, viewing it as a provocation and an assertion of jurisdiction over waters it considers its own.

Hsieh Ching-chin, deputy head of Taiwan's Coast Guard, informed lawmakers that if an "incident" occurs in these waters, ships should notify Taiwan's Coast Guard and "not respond to the so-called boarding inspections" by Chinese vessels. He added, "If the situation is urgent, Coast Guard vessels will sail between the two ships to separate them."

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In our waters, China has no jurisdiction.

"In our waters, China has no jurisdiction," Hsieh asserted. While neither Taiwan nor China reported any ship boardings during the recent Chinese patrols, Taiwan stated that Chinese coast guard ships "harassed" commercial vessels by requesting their origin and destination information and claiming authority. This incident follows a brief boarding of a Taiwanese tourist boat by Chinese coast guard personnel near Taiwan-controlled islands in 2024. The patrols have raised concerns among Western nations, including the U.S., Britain, France, and Germany.

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