Taipei: Taiwan’s Coast Guard has warned off a Chinese oceanographic research vessel, the Xiang Yang Hong 22, from its restricted waters, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said on Friday.
The vessel entered Taiwan’s restricted waters off the coast of Su’ao in Yilan County on Thursday at 11:35 pm (local time), according to the statement released by the CGA. The Coast Guard sent the 600-tonne-class Lanyu patrol vessel and the 100-tonne-class patrol boat PP-10077 to shadow the Chinese ship and issue radio warnings ordering it to depart, Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
The crew of the Lanyu radioed Xiang Yang Hong 22 and said China has no sovereignty over waters off Taiwan’s east coast and told the vessel to leave immediately. The two Taiwanese vessels then flanked the Chinese research ship and conducted maneuvers designed to generate waves and disrupt its operations, according to the statement.
According to the agency, Xiang Yang Hong 22 left Taiwan’s restricted waters at 4:20 am (local time). A few hours earlier, the Lanyu detected Xiang Yang Hong 22 41 nautical miles east of Hualien and issued similar warnings to leave the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), according to the statement released by agency earlier, CNA reported.
The CGA accused China of using government and research vessels to navigate in Taiwan’s EEZ “as a pretext to engage in hegemonic expansion.” The CGA said that Taiwan has sovereign rights and jurisdiction in its eastern exclusive economic zone and China’s attempts to harass Taiwan through maritime navigation or scientific research “cannot change this indisputable fact.”
On Thursday, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te urged China to stop its military expansion in the South and East China Seas, the Taiwan Strait, and any use of force against the island.
During a reception for foreign correspondents in Taipei on Thursday, Lai Ching-te expressed Taiwan’s willingness to engage in exchanges and cooperation based on equality and dignity, in pursuit of peaceful and mutually beneficial development. He noted that 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of Taiwan’s first direct presidential election, Taiwan-based Taipei Times reported.
Lai Ching-te said Taiwan held its elections 30 years back despite missile threats from China, sending a message to the international community that sovereignty rests with the people and that only 23 million people of Taiwan can decide its future. He stated that China and Taiwan are subordinate to each other and Taiwan is not part of China, Taipei Times reported.
He also expressed gratitude to the G7 leaders, at their summit in France’s Evian, for reiterating their opposition to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait by force or coercion.
The statement came as China has increased the frequency and scale of its military exercises around Taiwan in recent years. China maintains that Taiwan is a part of its territory and needs to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.
Despite China’s efforts, Taiwan, backed by strong public support, continues to assert its sovereignty and responds to China’s incursions.
(IANS)
