Taipei: Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) announced on Thursday that it is closely monitoring two China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels situated off Taiwan's east coast in an area where Taiwan's exclusive economic zone overlaps with those of Japan and the Philippines.
According to Focus Taiwan, the CGA reported that it had deployed the patrol vessel Chi An to track the movements of the CCG vessels, Putuoshan and Daishan, which were positioned 105 nautical miles and 74 nautical miles east of Green Island, respectively. This increased activity by Chinese vessels follows an announcement in May by Tokyo and Manila to initiate talks over the overlapping economic zones, which are also claimed by China.
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on Japan and the Philippines to involve Taipei in any future discussions regarding the EEZs. The CGA dismissed CCG's assertion that their vessels were performing "routine law-enforcement patrols" in waters east of what China refers to as "China's Taiwan Island."
The CGA emphasized that the Republic of China, Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China (PRC) are mutually exclusive entities. It argued that the CCG's claims contradict international law and are part of China's broader "expansionist" agenda and cognitive warfare strategy against Taiwan.