TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan forcefully rejected China's characterization of its maritime activities near the Taiwan-controlled island of Kinmen (金門) on Wednesday (May 28), as tensions continue to simmer in the narrow waterway separating the two sides. Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA, 海巡署) — the island's maritime law enforcement agency — dismissed claims by the East China Sea Branch of the China Coast Guard (CCG, 中國海警) that their vessels were conducting standard patrols, instead describing the incursions as "routine harassment" designed to undermine stability.
The confrontation began at 8:50 a.m. when Taiwan's 12th Patrol Area monitoring station identified a quartet of Chinese coast guard vessels — bearing hull numbers 14603, 14608, 14609, and 14513 — advancing toward Kinmen's restricted maritime zone. Taiwanese authorities responded by deploying four patrol boats from the Kinmen Patrol fleet, numbered 3505, 10039, 10081, and 10083, which issued stern warnings in both Chinese and English via radio communication, successfully compelling the Chinese vessels to retreat from the contested waters.
Officials from the Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch (金馬澎分署) — the CGA division responsible for Taiwan's offshore islands — disclosed a troubling pattern of Chinese maritime incursions dating back to February 18, following a significant confrontation four days earlier. These provocations, characterized as "law enforcement patrols" by Beijing, have occurred approximately four times monthly, with each intrusion typically lasting up to two hours. The pattern has continued unabated despite the existence of a cross-strait memorandum of understanding signed on July 30.
Taiwan's maritime authorities pledged to uphold their territorial integrity through enhanced surveillance capabilities and swift interdiction protocols when confronting future incursions. In an escalation of the information battle accompanying these maritime standoffs, the CGA announced plans to publicly release video documentation of enforcement actions, a strategic move designed to counter what Taiwanese officials characterize as deliberate misrepresentations by Chinese authorities regarding their activities in the contested waters. ◼
