China’s attempts at expanding into waters around Taiwan are facing international pushback, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said.
Beijing’s expansion into the Taiwan Strait, and East China and South China seas has triggered international countermeasures, the NSB said in a report to the Legislative Yuan.
The US and China have not changed their strategic rivalry, it said. The US is closely monitoring China’s coercive “gray zone” tactics in the Indo-Pacific region and expressed support for maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait. Meanwhile, China maintains its position on Taiwan, emphasizing its right to enforce its laws in the South China Sea, and has attempted to exclude the US in the ongoing issue according to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea agreement.
Photo: AFP
As a way to counter the US’ containment strategy, China has also suspended arms control and arms proliferation consultations with the US, the NSB added.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has tried to prepare his party and armed forces for military conflict at sea, and promote the construction of “modern” sea and air border defenses, the report said.
China has also expanded its jurisdiction in the region through laws such as China Coast Guard Regulation No. 3, which allows the coast guard to board and hold vessels in disputed waters it claims, as well as augmenting its patrols and surveillance at sea, the NSB said.
In the area around the Taiwan Strait, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has renovated coastal airports and used military exercises to demonstrate the integration of its maritime policing and military capabilities and put pressure on Taiwan, it said.
The PLA has frequently crossed into the restricted waters around Taiwan’s outlying islands with military, non-military and dual-use vessels, and has even sent small speedboats to Linkou (林口) and Tamsui (淡水), expanding the potential area of “gray zone” tactics and further harassing Taiwan, the report said.
In the East China Sea, the PLA recently sent four armed vessels to the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) — also known as the Senkakus in Japan — in addition to its patrols around Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and sending an intelligence-gathering plane in Japan’s airspace for the first time in August, it said.
In the South China Sea, the PLA held joint naval exercises with the Russian navy for the first time in eight years and has made controversial actions such as ramming Philippine Coast Guard vessels, it added.
In response, the US and its allies have frequently highlighted the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and have opposed China’s provocations, the report said.
The US has made Japan the centerpiece of its Indo-Pacific strategy through the recently upgraded US unified command in Japan, its attempts to bring Japan closer to the Philippines and Australia, the AUKUS security alliance and the Quad — consisting of Australia, Japan, India and the US, the NSB said.
European countries are also increasingly expressing their concerns about the stability and peace in the region by making more frequent transits through the Taiwan Strait and their participation in joint military training exercises, it added.
Taiwan yesterday expelled four China Coast Guard vessels that entered Taiwan-controlled restricted waters off Lienchiang County (Matsu) shortly after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced the start of its “Joint Sword-2024B” drills around Taiwan. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a statement that it had detected two China Coast Guard ships west of Nangan Island (南竿) and another two north of Dongyin Island (東引) at 8am yesterday. After Chinese ships sailed into restricted waters off Matsu shortly afterward, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch deployed four patrol vessels to shadow and approach the vessels, it said. The incidents pushed up to 44 the number
The government has issued a deportation order for a Spanish fugitive, ordering him to leave the country within 10 days, as he is wanted by European authorities for allegedly operating a car rental scam. National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials yesterday said Salvador Alejandro Llinas Onate, 48, had been notified that he must leave Taiwan, as he was wanted for committing serious crimes. The Spaniard has been indicted by Italian prosecutors for allegedly leading a 30 million euros (US$32.74 million) car rental scam and setting up a fraudulent company in Trento, Italy. The deportation order is based on Article 18 of
Renovations on the B3 concourse of Taipei Main Station are to begin on Nov. 1, with travelers advised to use entrances near the Taiwan Railway or high-speed rail platforms or information counter to access the MRT’s Red Line. Construction is to be completed before the end of next year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said last week. To reduce the impact on travelers, the NT$95 million (US$2.95 million) project is to be completed in four stages, it said. In the first stage, the hall leading to the Blue Line near the art exhibition area is to be closed from Nov. 1 to the end
Prosecutors yesterday questioned Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and former Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲), while members of the other two main political parties called on Ko, a former Taipei mayor, to come clean about the ongoing corruption probe. Ko was taken by bailiffs to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, where he was questioned for two-and-a-half hours in the morning, returning at about noon to the Taipei Detention Center in New Taipei City, where he has been held in pretrial detention since Sept. 5. In the afternoon, prosecutors reportedly asked Pong about his role while working in Ko’s