China resumes coast guard patrols east of Taiwan, drawing condemnation from Taipei and European capitals
Beijing rotated its flotilla on Saturday to continue a maritime control operation that began in June, prompting Taiwan to accuse it of undermining the status quo and violating international law.
Patrols resume with flotilla rotation
China's coast guard resumed patrols on Saturday in waters east of Taiwan, replacing the Daishan-led flotilla with a new group headed by the Xiushan vessel. Spokesperson Jiang Lue said the rotation would ensure continuity of the "special maritime traffic control operation" that started in June. The earlier phase, from June 6 to 10, saw 198 vessels inspected, according to the transport ministry.
- First phase of special maritime traffic control operation begins; 198 vessels inspected by June 10.
- UK, France and Germany issue joint statement calling the patrols a threat to regional stability.
- China resumes patrols with flotilla rotation from Daishan to Xiushan group.
Taiwan's condemnation
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) issued a sharp rebuke, stating that "China has no sovereignty or rights in the waters east of Taiwan" and condemning "energetically the violations of international law committed by the Chinese Coast Guard." The council added that repeated illegal acts do not gain legitimacy through repetition and vowed to strengthen cooperation with democratic partners to safeguard freedom of navigation.
Illegal acts remain illegal no matter how many times they are repeated.
Beijing's justification
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, defended the patrols as "reasonable, legal, legitimate and necessary." She asserted that China possesses an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf east of Taiwan, a claim Taipei rejects. Zhu framed the operation as a "just action" against Japan and the Philippines, which recently announced plans to negotiate their own maritime boundaries in the same area.
China possesses an exclusive economic zone and a continental shelf in the waters east of the island of Taiwan.
International reaction
Last month, the United Kingdom, France and Germany issued an unusual joint statement describing the deployment as a threat to regional stability, freedom of navigation and the security of international shipping. The European concerns add a multilateral dimension to the dispute, which Beijing insists is a matter of enforcing its own jurisdictional waters.
