China launches maritime law‑enforcement operation east of Taiwan after Japan‑Philippines talks

China’s Ministry of Transport coordinated a special maritime law‑enforcement operation in waters east of Taiwan, deploying coast‑guard and patrol vessels from the Fujian and Guangdong provinces. The move was presented as a response to recent Japan‑Philippines talks on delimiting their exclusive economic zones, which Beijing says violate its sovereignty and overlap Taiwan’s EEZ.

Taiwan’s Coast Guard announced it had sent several vessels to monitor the Chinese ships, calling the operation a breach of international law. Earlier, Taiwan reported four Chinese government vessels departing Xiamen and operating outside its restricted waters, and it has observed multiple PLA aircraft and naval sorties around the island.

In a separate incident, a Chinese coast‑guard ship and an oceanographic survey vessel coordinated a joint approach to the Taiwan‑controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea, which Taiwan described as the first observed provocation of its maritime sovereignty. The People’s Liberation Army also tracked the Dutch frigate HNLMS De Ruyter as it transited the Taiwan Strait, underscoring heightened naval activity in the region.