Following the beginning of this month, the mainland Chinese Coast Guard has once again carried out regular law enforcement patrols in the waters east of Taiwan.
Jiang Lue, spokesperson for the Mainland Coast Guard Bureau, said Friday (July 31) on its official WeChat public account that the Shoushan ship formation of the Chinese mainland coast guard was carrying out regular law enforcement patrols in the waters east of Taiwan in accordance with the law that day.
Jiang pointed out that since July, the Shoushan ship formation has continued to strengthen management and control in the relevant sea areas, effectively ensuring the order of normal navigation and operations, and "truly safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests, and the safety of life and property, of Chinese nationals including the compatriots in Taiwan." "China Coast Guard will continue to strengthen law enforcement patrols in waters under China’s jurisdiction, resolutely safeguarding national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests."
After Japan and the Philippines launched negotiations at the end of May on delimiting overlapping exclusive economic zones and continental shelf areas with China, the Chinese mainland organized its coast guard ships multiple times in June to carry out law enforcement operations in the seas east of Taiwan. In early July, this escalated into a lawfare action, warning that the Japan-Philippines negotiations constituted internationally unlawful acts for not consulting with Beijing.
Subsequently, the mainland coast guard upgraded its activity in the waters east of Taiwan to "regular law enforcement patrols." China Central Television’s new media account “Yuyuan Tantian” later quoted a marine expert as saying that compared to the patrol statements released in June, this operation now added the expression "regular." "Regularization means asserting sovereignty through continuous law enforcement actions."
The Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council strongly condemned the mainland coast guard vessel’s actions as “violations of international law that undermine the status quo and regional stability.” The Taiwan Coast Guard Administration criticized Beijing’s actions as “feigned law enforcement, real expansion of authority,” calling it a cognitive warfare operation that cannot change the fact that “China has absolutely no sovereign rights over any of the seas around Taiwan.”