6th April 2023 – (Taipei) China has announced a three-day “special joint patrol and inspection operation” in the Taiwan Strait, just ahead of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The operation, launched by China’s Fujian Maritime Safety Administration (MSA), is set to take place in the central and southern parts of the Taiwan Strait, starting at 9am local time.
According to a statement posted on its Weibo page, the MSA stated that the operation will include patrols in the coastal areas of Fujian, from Pingtan in the north to Zhangzhou in the south. It will also cover areas such as Meizhou Bay, Dongshan Bay, and Xiamen Bay, which are all close to Taiwan’s Kinmen County. The scope of the patrols and inspections will encompass the direct container ship route between Pingtan and Taiwan, ferries along the mini-three-links that connect Chinese coastal cities with Matsu and Kinmen, zones where commercial fishing is conducted, areas where illegal sand dredging occurs, and underwater construction areas, possibly referring to repair work on the undersea cable connecting Taiwan Proper with Matsu.
The MSA stated that the purpose of the operation is to “ensure the safety of ships and ensure the orderly operation of key water projects” and that it has dispatched the China Coast Guard vessel “Haixun 06” to participate in the operation.
In response to China’s announcement, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) issued a press release expressing “strong dissatisfaction” and condemning China’s actions as an escalation of cross-strait tensions. The MAC emphasized that Taiwan is promoting the gradual restoration of exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it warned that if China continues to obstruct normal cross-strait exchanges with “one-sided and unreasonable actions,” Taiwan will be forced to take corresponding actions and that China must bear the consequences of such actions.
Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau also condemned China’s announcement and issued a statement notifying ship crews to reject any requests by China’s coast guard to conduct “boardings and inspections.” Instead, they are instructed to notify Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration for protection and resolution of the matter. The bureau reiterated the MAC’s stance on resuming normal operations of the mini-three-links and warned that China’s actions will create obstacles to normal exchanges between the two sides of the strait.
Despite China’s threats, President Tsai Ing-wen proceeded with her meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. The historic meeting, which included 18 other bipartisan members of Congress, marks only the third meeting between a Taiwan president and a standing house speaker, and the first to take place on U.S. soil.
Meanwhile, The Ministry of National Defence (MND) in Taiwan has reported tracking one Chinese military helicopter and three naval vessels around Taiwan between 5th April at 6am and 6th April at 6am.
One People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Ka-28 anti-submarine warfare helicopter entered the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), as confirmed by the MND. However, no PLA aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait during this time.
In response to these activities, Taiwan deployed aircraft and naval ships, as well as utilized land-based missiles to monitor the PLA aircraft and vessels.
This month alone, Beijing has sent a total of 68 military aircraft and 20 naval vessels around Taiwan. Since September 2020, China has been increasingly employing gray zone tactics by routinely sending aircraft into Taiwan’s ADIZ.