Taiwan Pushes Chinese Vessels from Restricted Waters

Tensions between China and Taiwan escalated over the weekend after Taiwan's coast guard confirmed it had pushed four Chinese government ships out of restricted waters off the island's southern coast, in an exchange of sharp warnings between vessels from both sides.

According to Taiwan, three Chinese Coast Guard ships and one other government vessel entered the area. Taipei dispatched seven coast guard ships to warn the Chinese vessels of the violation, and all four ships were subsequently forced to leave.

The incident occurred shortly after China announced a special operation in waters off Taiwan. Beijing was reacting to a decision by Japan and the Philippines to begin negotiations on maritime boundary demarcation, which China says also affects waters near Taiwan.

Taiwan's coast guard released a recording of the exchange in which the Chinese side identifies the area as waters under Chinese jurisdiction. Taiwanese officers rejected this, saying Beijing has no sovereign rights in the waters east of the island.

Taiwan has seen increased activity by both the Chinese coast guard and military in recent weeks. Beijing continues to regard the island as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to retake it.

(reuters, max)