TAIPEI(National Times)- Taiwan\u2019s coast guard said on Sunday its vessels were in a \u201cstandoff\u201d with Chinese ships involved in an operation in waters southeast of the island democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chinese state media reported on Saturday that the \u201claw enforcement operation\u201d was in response to talks between Japan and the Philippines to draw a boundary in waters to the east of Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China, which asserts Taiwan is part of its territory, called the talks \u201cillegal\u201d and has claimed exclusive control over the waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taiwan\u2019s coast guard said its vessels had \u201cexpelled\u201d four Chinese ships from the island\u2019s \u201crestricted waters\u201d, and were now 33 nautical miles (61 kilometres) southeast of the island\u2019s southernmost tip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taipei laments use of Japan-Philippines negotiations as a pretext to create \u2018illusion of maritime jurisdiction\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVessels from both sides are still in a standoff,\u201d the Taiwanese coast guard said in a statement. The coast guard said that it \u201cstrongly condemns China\u2019s use of the Japan-Philippines negotiations as a pretext to conceal its attempts to create the illusion of \u2018jurisdiction\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taiwan has deployed seven patrol vessels to help with surveillance of the Chinese ships. Tokyo and Manila said last month they would start formal talks \u201cto delimit the maritime boundary\u201d of an economic zone and continental shelf between them, angering Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Saturday, Beijing\u2019s transport ministry organised maritime police from the coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong to \u201cconduct a special maritime traffic law enforcement operation in waters east of Taiwan Island\u201d, state news agency Xinhua said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report did not give details on the operation, including how long it lasted or whether it was still ongoing, and it did not say whether maritime police sent ships to the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The operation was \u201ca necessary action taken against Japan and the Philippines\u2019 unilateral announcement they would start \u2018negotiations on delimiting a maritime boundary\u2019\u201d near Taiwan, Xinhua added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taiwan said on Wednesday it should be consulted on the Japan-Philippines talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manila and Tokyo\u2019s shared grievances over Chinese maritime territorial claims have seen them draw increasingly close in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Japan and China are in territorial and economic disputes in the East China Sea, where coast guard ships from both sides routinely stage tense standoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beijing has meanwhile deployed navy and coast guard vessels in the South China Sea in a bid to bar the Philippines from strategically important reefs and islands, leading to a string of confrontations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taiwan\u2019s coast guard said on Saturday that a Chinese survey vessel had joined a coast guard ship in waters around Pratas Island in the northern part of the South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Taiwanese coast guard said it was \u201cthe first observed instance of Chinese coast guard and survey vessels acting in coordination to provoke Taiwan\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taiwan controls Pratas but Beijing also claims the island, along with most of the strategic waterway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TAIPEI(National Times)- Taiwan\u2019s coast guard said on Sunday its vessels were in a \u201cstandoff\u201d with Chinese ships involved in an operation in waters southeast of the island democracy. Chinese state media reported on Saturday that the \u201claw enforcement operation\u201d was in response to talks between Japan and the Philippines to draw a boundary in waters […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n