Taiwan’s concerns grow over Quemoy waters as mainland China steps up ‘normal’ patrols

Taiwanese authorities warn off several mainland coastguard vessels amid worries incident could spark stand-off
Mainland coastguard announced strengthened patrols on Friday following a series of fishing incidents

Taiwan

Lawrence Chungin Taipei

Published: 8:54pm, 18 Mar 2024

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The “normalising” of patrols by mainland China’s coastguard in waters around Quemoy has raised concerns in Taiwan over Beijing’s attempt to justify its jurisdiction over the narrow waterway.

Eight mainland Chinese coastguard vessels sailed into the waters near Quemoy – a Taiwanese defence outpost close to the mainland city of Xiamen – on Friday and Saturday to perform what Beijing described as “normal” and “regular law enforcement” patrol missions.

The move came after the mainland coastguard announced on Friday it would step up patrols around Quemoy, also known as Kinmen, following a series of fishing incidents.

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They included the deaths of two mainland fishermen who had been on board an unregistered speedboat trying to evade the island’s coastguard after the boat entered the waters near Quemoy on February 14. In a separate mishap blamed on bad weather, two other fishermen died and two others were missing after their boat capsized on Thursday in the same area.

The mainland coastguard said on Friday that its patrols were legal that it would “continue to step up patrols to protect the legitimate rights and interests, safety and property of Chinese fishermen, including those from Taiwan”.

Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office also said the increased patrols were a “normal act” as “Taiwan is a part of China and regular law enforcement in waters near Quemoy is the duty of the mainland coastguard”.

The TAO accused the government of Taiwan’s independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party for the “trampling of human life” and “failing to repent” over the fatal boat pursuit incident.

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War scarred bunkers on Quemoy reflect the islands’ frontline role in Taiwan Strait tension

Taiwan’s coastguard said it warned off four ships on Friday and four others on Saturday when they approached the waters near Quemoy.

“The move has seriously impacted traffic and safety. To avoid triggering naval incidents we urge them to stop such behaviour,” the island’s coastguard said on Saturday.

Beijing – which sees Taiwan as territory that must be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary – accused the island’s coastguard of using “violent and dangerous methods” in the pursuit.

The mainland has carried out regular coastguard patrols around Quemoy since the February 14 incident, with six to seven ships operating around Quemoy and Matsu, another Taiwanese defence outpost close to Fuzhou.

Last month, mainland coastguard officers boarded a Taiwanese tourist boat to check the vessel’s licence and captain’s certificate, further stoking cross-strait tensions.

A US State Department official said Beijing’s “continued provocations” in waters close to Quemoy “revealed its intention to unilaterally change the status quo”.

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“Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our consistent interests and is crucial to regional and global security and prosperity,” a US official was quoted as saying by Taiwan’s semi-official Central News Agency on Saturday.

The official called for the two sides to exercise restraint and resolve the issue peacefully.

The US, like most countries, does not recognise the self-ruled island as independent, but is opposed to any forcible change to the status quo and is committed to arming the island.

Observers said Beijing had tried to use the incident to erase Taiwan’s jurisdiction over the Quemoy area.

“By normalising its patrol missions in the waters around Quemoy, Beijing aims to gradually create the impression that such missions are legitimate before eventually establishing its de facto jurisdiction over the area,” said Chieh Chung, a security researcher at the National Policy Foundation, a think tank affiliated with the main opposition Kuomintang party.

He said the Taiwanese coastguard must send at least two larger vessels to regularly patrol the waters around Quemoy to counter Beijing’s attempts.

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Su Tzu-yun, an analyst at the Institute for National Defence and Security Research, a government think tank based in Taipei, said Beijing’s increased patrols were part of its “systematic use of grey zone [non-military] tactics to undermine the sovereignty” of the island.

He said Taipei must step up its risk management for unintended incidents that could spark a potential conflict.

Meanwhile, two Taiwanese men who had been fishing in waters off a Quemoy beach were rescued by the mainland coastguard after their boat ran out of fuel and drifted to a bay near the mainland city of Quanzhou on Monday, according to Taiwan’s coastguard administration.