China-Taiwan Tension: Tension between China and Taiwan has once again increased due to the entry of Chinese ships into Taiwan’s territorial waters. Last Saturday, Taiwan has expressed objection to the intrusion of Chinese ships into the sensitive Taiwan Strait for the second consecutive day. As soon as the Chinese ships entered, Taiwan warned these ships through radio information to return immediately.
Reuters quoted Taiwan’s coast guard as saying that four Chinese coast guard boats had entered restricted waters off the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Islands on Saturday morning. Despite warnings from Taiwanese officials, Chinese boats remained stuck in sensitive waters for an hour. In fact, despite Taiwan’s strong objections, China always calls Taiwan a part of its country. In recent years, China has increased military activities near Taiwan.
Taiwan warned
According to footage released by the Taiwan Coast Guard, a Taiwanese official told Chinese officials via radio, “You have entered our country’s restricted waters, please return immediately.” In this footage, a Taiwan Coast Guard boat is shown monitoring the movement of two Chinese ships. The Taiwan Coast Guard said in a statement, ‘China’s move has had a serious impact on traffic and security. We urge them to stop such behavior to avoid naval incidents. At present, there has been no comment from China on this issue.
Why is China patrolling?
According to Taiwan’s official Central News Agency, China’s coast guard also patrolled near the Kinmen Islands on Friday. Four Chinese coast guard boats were warned by Taiwan’s Navy. According to media reports, recently two Chinese fishermen died in Kinmen area, after which Chinese coast guard teams are doing regular patrolling.
What did the Taiwanese official say?
A senior Taiwanese security official told Reuters that Beijing was harassing Taiwan and sending “confused” messages. Besides, it is also seeking the help of Taipei to deal with maritime incidents. The official said Chinese coast guard patrols in Kinmen pose “no major security threat” but the situation there has become complicated.
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