Tensions Rise as Chinese Coast Guard Ships Enter Waters Near Taiwan’s Kinmen Islands

TFD – Discover the escalating tensions between Taiwan and China as Chinese coast guard ships intrude into waters near the Kinmen islands. The situation raises concerns about maritime security and stability in the region.

Taiwan, Taipei — 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, a Taiwan minister said Tuesday amid a continued rise in tensions with Beijing.

This month, China started conducting routine patrols around the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands, which lie near China’s shore. The reason for the patrols was because two Chinese nationals perished while attempting to escape Taiwan’s coast guard when their boat ventured into forbidden waters.

“It’s a kind of a declaration of sovereignty, and it has high political significance,” she said.

China’s coast guard has not yet responded; its contact information is not available to the general public.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said it would comment at its regular news briefing on Wednesday. This month, it declared that Chinese fishing vessels operating in the Kinmen area are not subject to any restrictions or off-limits areas.

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.

Though Taiwan’s coast guard patrols its waterways, the island nation maintains a sizable military post on Kinmen, the site of frequent fighting during the height of the Cold War.

The Matsu archipelago, which is located up the coast from Kinmen, is one of the islands near China that Taiwan’s defense ministry declared last week it is not increasing its force presence on.

Speaking before the parliament as well, Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng expressed his hope that the situation near Kinmen will be “smoothly handled” and not worsen.

He declared, “We don’t want any combat conditions to arise.”

Xiamen and Quanzhou in China are both close to Kinmen, which is reachable by short boat. Since the defeated government of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan in 1949 following a civil war against the Communists led by Mao Zedong, who established the People’s Republic of China, Taipei has maintained sovereignty over it.

Taiwan’s coast guard reported that six Chinese coast guard officers last week boarded a Taiwanese tourist boat carrying 23 passengers and 11 crew members to verify the vessel’s personnel licenses, certificate, and route plan. The inspectors left the boat after around 30 minutes.

China recognizes no sovereignty claims by Taiwan and has accused Taiwan of acting “maliciously” by causing the deaths of the two Chinese nationals on the fishing boat, which had gotten too close to one of Kinmen’s heavily fortified islets.

“We in Taiwan are concerned about safeguarding the rights of fishermen and the safety of the sea. In fact, all our practices are the same as those of other countries around the world,” he said.