Taiwan warns off Chinese coast guard boats again

FILE PHOTO: Chinese and Taiwanese flags are seen in this illustration, August 6, 2022. Taiwan on Saturday, March 16, 2024, warned off Chinese coast guard ships that entered its restricted waters near frontline islands close to China for a second day in a row, as tensions simmer across the sensitive Taiwan Strait. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

TAIPEI — Taiwan on Saturday warned off Chinese coast guard ships that entered its restricted waters near frontline islands close to China for a second day in a row, as tensions simmer across the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

Its coast guard said four Chinese coast guard boats on Saturday morning entered the restricted waters of Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands, which hug the Chinese coast. It said the Chinese boats stayed just over an hour after Taipei authorities asked them to leave.

China claims the democratically-governed country as its own territory, over the island’s strong objections. It has stepped up military activities near Taiwan in recent years, with almost daily incursions into air defense identification zones.

“You have entered our country’s restricted waters. Please turn around immediately,” an official of the island said via radio in a broadcast message to their Chinese counterparts, according to footage released on Saturday by Taiwan’s coast guard.

The footage shows a Taiwan coast guard boat tracking the movement of two Chinese ships in the near distance.

“The move has seriously impacted traffic and safety. To avoid triggering naval incidents we urge them to stop such behaviors,” Taiwan’s coast guard said in a statement.

READ: Taiwan drives away Chinese coast guard boat as frontline island tensions rise

There was no immediate comment from China’s coast guard, which does not have publicly available contact details.

China’s coast guard conducted patrols near the Kinmen Islands on Friday as well, with four Chinese coast guard boats being warned away by their Taiwanese counterparts, according to the democratically-governed island’s official Central News Agency.

Last month, China’s coast guard began regular patrols around Kinmen, after two Chinese nationals died while trying to flee Taiwan’s coast guard after their boat entered prohibited waters.

Taiwan dispatched coast guard boats on Thursday to join a rescue mission at China’s request after a Chinese fishing vessel capsized near the Kinmen islands. Its government has stressed the importance of cooperation between Taiwan and China amid the heightened tensions.

On Friday, the island also sent several boats at China’s request to help search for a Chinese fisherman who went overboard near the Taiwan-controlled Matsu islands, in the northern end of the Taiwan Strait.

READ: Taiwan defends coast guard in fatal accident amid China complaint

A senior Taiwan security official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters that Beijing is sending out “confusing” messages by continuing its harassment of Taipei, while also asking for its assistance on dealing with maritime incidents.

The official said the latest moves by the Chinese coast guard in Kinmen “did not carry substantial security threats” but complicated the situation there.

“We are clueless,” the official said. “We tried to save their fishermen yesterday and today they are baring their teeth and claws.”

Last week, Taiwan’s top China policy-making body urged its giant neighbor not to change the “status quo” in waters near Kinmen by sending coast guard boats into restricted areas.