Taiwan Coast Guard drives Chinese vessels from Kinmen waters

The Taiwan Coast Guard Administration reported that four Chinese Coast Guard vessels—identified as ‘14609’, ‘14531’, ‘14608’, and ‘14530’—entered the restricted waters near Kinmen on August 19. The vessels approached the area in two columns from the east of Liaoluo-dong and the south of Lieyu. Taiwan deployed patrol boats to conduct one-on-one monitoring and used Chinese and English broadcasts to drive the ships away. The Chinese vessels departed the area by 5:00 PM.

The incident follows the end of China’s seasonal fishing moratorium on August 16, which has led to a massive surge of fishing vessels departing Chinese ports. Taiwan officials criticized Beijing for failing to manage its domestic fishing fleet and accused the China Coast Guard of using ‘gray zone’ tactics to disrupt the status quo and challenge Taiwan’s maritime sovereignty.

In response to increased activity, the Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch has intensified patrols. Between August 16 and 18, authorities conducted large-scale operations involving 35 patrol boat sorties and over 700 personnel, successfully driving away eight encroaching vessels.