Taiwan logs 13th ship intrusion
Chinese and Taiwanese vessels closed to within 1.9 kilometers near the Pratas Islands on Saturday morning.
By Hugo Cook ·
Thirteen. That is the number of times a Chinese vessel has entered the restricted waters near the Pratas Islands this year, according to data released by the Taiwan coast guard on Saturday. The latest incident involved 16 individual vessels over the course of the calendar year.
The most recent standoff began early on Saturday. A Chinese coast guard ship crossed into the contested area southwest of Taiwan’s main island. A Taiwanese patrol boat intercepted the intruder and ordered it to withdraw. As the two ships maneuvered past one another, the distance between their hulls shrank to a single nautical mile, or 1.9 kilometers.
Beijing asserts jurisdiction over these waters. It maintains that Taiwan is a breakaway province and has kept military force on the table for reunification. Since June, patrols in the region have intensified. France, Germany, and Britain joined in a rare joint statement earlier this year, warning that Chinese activity east of Taiwan threatened regional stability.
The Taiwan coast guard accused Beijing of engaging in "pointless acts of harassment." It demanded that the Chinese side stop the incursions immediately. The agency noted that the frequency of these encounters has risen in recent months, particularly in the waters east of the island.
On the same day, the China Coast Guard announced a separate deployment. It dispatched a group of ships to conduct a "routine law enforcement patrol" in the waters east of Taiwan. A statement from the agency said it would continue to intensify patrols to uphold territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.
Source: The Hour
