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By Micah McCartney
Reporter
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Taiwan claims it expelled three Chinese coast guard vessels from waters near the contested Pratas Island in the South China Sea.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry via email for comment.
Why It Matters
China claims most of the South China Sea as its territory, including waters contested by neighboring governments. This includes Pratas Island, known in both Beijing and Taipei as the Dongsha Islands.
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Taiwan, however, administers the coral island of Pratas, along with nearby sandbars and reefs, as a marine national park and maintains a small garrison of marines there. Though Taiwan functions as a sovereign state, China claims sovereignty over the island democracy and has vowed to bring it under its control, by force if necessary.
What To Know
Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said it detected two Chinese coast guard vessels outside what Taipei considers restricted waters around Pratas shortly before 7 a.m. on September 30.
The Chinese ships then entered restricted waters at 8:22 a.m. The Taiwanese cutter Tainan sailed parallel to their path about 29 nautical miles (33 miles) south of Pratas Island, repeatedly broadcasting warnings to leave the area, according to the statement. The ships departed the vicinity shortly after 6 p.m.
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A third Chinese coast guard vessel entered the so-called restricted waters around Dongsha Island just after 6 a.m. on Thursday. This time, the cutter Taipei was deployed to intercept the ship.
"The Taipei continuously escorted, monitored, and expelled [the vessel]," which left restricted waters in the early afternoon, On October 3 at 12:02 a.m., 3102 left restricted waters around northeast of Dongsha, sailing north," according to a statement from the Taiwan Coast Guard.
China has not issued a statement on either encounter.
It is not only Chinese coast guard vessels that have entered the zone. Taiwan’s coast guard said that since January, it has driven away 159 Chinese fishing boats and detained a dozen smaller vessels in the waters near Dongsha.
What People Are Saying
Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said: “Recently, Chinese coast guard ships have repeatedly intruded into the waters around our Dongsha Islands. The Coast Guard Administration will continue to dispatch vessels to patrol and defend the Dongsha area, firmly safeguarding our national sovereignty.”
What Happens Next
Tensions are expected to persist between China and Taiwan as Beijing continues sending maritime forces into disputed waters, putting pressure on Taiwan to deploy its coast guard to defend its territorial claims—including areas such as Pratas Island and the outlying county of Kinmen.
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