Taiwan's Coast Guard deployed seven ships to forcefully drive away four mainland Chinese official vessels. Chairperson of the Mainland Affairs Council, Bi-khim Kuan, posted on social media, criticizing mainland China for using Japan-Philippines negotiations to cover up their escalating provocations and launching unprecedented and intensive harassment actions against Taiwan.
On Sunday, Kuan Bi-ling wrote on Facebook that since May 7, mainland China, without any cause, initiated a month-long escalation of provocative actions. At that time, there were no Japan-Philippines negotiations, only the needs of hegemony. As things evolved to today, using the Japan-Philippines talks as a pretext is purely an excuse to cover up hegemonic intentions with lies.
She emphasized that any attempt to change the status quo or undermine regional peace by means of hegemonic actions will not be accepted by the people of Taiwan.
In her post, Kuan stated that last Saturday, mainland China suddenly announced the launch of a special maritime traffic enforcement operation in the eastern sea area. Considering that since early May, mainland China has carried out wave after wave of gray-zone harassment with barely any interruption, and the paths of their vessels have differed from the past, these actions constitute escalated and overbearing harassment.
She said that mainland China has intensified gray-zone harassment with unprecedentedly dense actions, beginning with the research vessel 'Tongji' incident, which not only invaded Taiwan's restricted waters and openly deployed scientific instruments, but also publicly broadcasted warnings for Taiwan not to approach. On May 7 and May 14, there were two waves of prolonged harassment actions, carried out extremely brazenly.
Kuan pointed out that mainland China announced on June 1 the initiation of an enforcement patrol in the eastern sea area; on June 3, coast guard vessels aggressively approached and harassed the Coast Guard's maritime exercises, and on the same day, they formed a fleet to harass Kinmen; on June 5, the coast guard vessel 3501 and the research vessel 'Maritime Silk Road 6' jointly sped across and intruded into the Dongsha restricted waters, with the research vessel even further penetrating into the prohibited waters (territorial sea).
She also said that on June 6, mainland China announced a special maritime traffic enforcement operation in the eastern sea area, and then late at night deployed a fleet of four large coast guard vessels (with the largest exceeding 10,000 tons), departing from Kinmen and heading toward the offshore eastern waters of Taiwan.
On Sunday, Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration issued a press release on its official website, stating that mainland China's Ministry of Transport had announced a special maritime traffic enforcement operation, and at 2:05 pm on Sunday, dispatched four official vessels – 'Haixun 06', 'Haixun 08', 'Haixun 09', and 'Donghai Rescue 113' – which entered Taiwan's restricted waters 30 nautical miles (56 kilometers) southwest of Eluanbi. The Coast Guard's 'Kaohsiung' vessel and others monitored them in one-on-one accompaniment and immediately broadcasted warnings to drive them away; by 5:30 pm, at a location 33 nautical miles southeast of Eluanbi, all four mainland official vessels had been expelled outside the restricted waters.
During the Coast Guard vessels' broadcast to drive them away, mainland China's 'Haixun 06' declared: 'Both sides belong to one China, this is China's jurisdictional waters. Our maritime enforcement team is conducting a special traffic enforcement mission in the China Strait waters; do not interfere with our official duties.'
The 'Kaohsiung' vessel immediately responded sternly as follows: 'China enjoys no sovereign rights in the eastern waters of Taiwan. Your unauthorized entry into our waters violates international law, disrupts the order and security of Taiwan's maritime area. Please turn away and leave our waters immediately. Peace in the Taiwan Strait is critical to global economic stability and the lifeline of the technology industry. Should a conflict occur, your side will face international sanctions. Maritime stability is essential for mainland development; please act prudently for the peace of the Taiwan Strait.'
The Coast Guard Administration stated that it has deployed the 'Kaohsiung', 'Danshui', 'Jian', 'Changbin', and 'Hualien' patrol vessels, along with two 100-ton class patrol boats, deployed along the line to monitor the situation. The Coast Guard strongly condemned mainland China for using the Japan-Philippines talks as an excuse to cover up its attempt to create a false image of jurisdiction. The Coast Guard will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty and maritime security.
According to Taiwan’s Liberty Times, regarding the above situation, the Mainland Affairs Council emphasized that 'The sovereignty rights of the Republic of China's territorial sea and economic waters cannot be infringed upon by any country. The other side is stirring up trouble without justification; we absolutely do not accept this.'
The Mainland Affairs Council also stated that the Coast Guard has been closely monitoring the situation and is resolutely defending Taiwan’s sovereignty and ensuring the security of Taiwan’s maritime area through concrete actions.