Taiwan’s maritime authorities repelled this Monday the incursion of four Chinese Coast Guard vessels that were sailing through “restricted waters” of the Matsu Islands, hours after Beijing announced military maneuvers around Taiwan, according to official sources.
The incident occurred on Monday morning, when the Taiwan Coast Guard (CGA) detected two Chinese Coast Guard (also called CCG) vessels sailing west of Nangan Island and two others transiting northwest of Dongyin Island. Both were controlled and located a few kilometers from southeastern China, the Taiwanese side said in a statement.
The Taiwanese maritime authority indicated that, so far this year, Chinese Coast Guard vessels have entered Taiwan’s peripheral archipelagos 44 times. This, according to the CGA, “does not benefit equitable exchanges between both sides of the Strait.” He then added that “The Coast Guard reiterates its firm determination to defend national sovereignty, maintaining the principles of non-provocation, non-conflict, non-evasion and non-weakness. “It will continue to vigorously enforce the law to safeguard security and order in our waters and protect the country’s maritime rights.”
In addition to these statements, the Taiwanese maritime authority launched a special task force to respond to China’s maritime activities on the morning of October 14.
China seeks to reaffirm its position on Taiwan through threats and military exercises in the region
For its part, China assured that “Taiwan independence is incompatible with peace in the Taiwan Strait,” on a day when the Chinese Army carries out military exercises around the island.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning declared in a press conference that her country is apparently committed “to peace and stability in the region,” something that “all major countries can see.”
Mao stressed that the conflict with Taiwan “is a purely internal matter” of China. He also added that “If the United States is interested in cross-strait peace, it should respect the ‘one China’ principle, not send wrong signals to independence forces, and stop arming Taiwan.”
What does Taiwan say about China’s military exercises?
China’s strong military measures
This new wave of military maneuvers involves both the Chinese armed forces of land, sea, air as well as rockets, in an attempt to demonstrate their power and intimidate Taiwan. This situation is reminiscent of the exercises carried out by China in May, also in the Taiwan Strait and around the self-governed territory that Beijing considers an integral part of its sovereignty.
These operations not only seek to maintain pressure on Taiwan, but also send a clear message to the international community and, in particular, the United States and its allies.
The Chinese government had previously warned that it would again “take countermeasures” against Taiwan if “secessionist forces seeking independence continue to provoke” and until the “complete reunification” of the country under Beijing’s control was achieved.
These maneuvers, therefore, are part of a broader and stronger strategy by China to reaffirm its position against any attempt at Taiwanese independence, which it considers a direct threat to its territorial integrity.
Increased Chinese military maneuvers from 2022 intensify tensions in the Taiwan Strait
The current scenario is not new. Since 2022, when China began to escalate the frequency and scope of these types of military exercises, tensions in the Taiwan Strait have reached levels considered dangerous and not seen for a long time.
Furthermore, this change came in direct response to then-Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August of that year. The visit, which was interpreted by the Asian giant as a direct challenge to its one-China policy, unleashed a strong reaction from the national government. His response was to launch the first large-scale military maneuvers around the island in decades.
Since then, China has resorted to this type of military display on at least five occasions, each of them accompanied by strong statements about the imposition of stopping any progress towards Taiwanese independence.
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