A TAIWAN minister said on Tuesday that five Chinese coast guard ships entered prohibited or restricted waters around Taiwan’s frontline islands of Kinmen on Monday but left shortly after being warned away.
This was amid a continued rise in tensions with Beijing.
China’s coast guard this month began regular patrols around the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands, which are close to China’s coast, after two Chinese nationals died trying to flee Taiwan’s coast guard after their boat entered prohibited waters.
Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, which runs the coast guard, told reporters at parliament that the Chinese boats left the area shortly after Taiwan’s coast guard told them to leave, as posted on asahi.com
“The political significance is high, which is a form of a declaration of sovereignty,” she said.
China’s coast guard, which has no publicly available contact details, has yet to comment.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said it would comment at its regular news briefing on Wednesday. It said this month that it recognizes no off-limits or restricted waters for Chinese fishing boats around Kinmen.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory despite the island’s rejection, has been wary of efforts by Beijing to ramp up pressure on Taipei following last month’s election of Lai Ching-te as president. Beijing considers Lai a separatist.
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