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Mainland Chinese coastguard keeps up pressure on Taiwan with latest ‘regular’ patrol near Quemoy
- Coastguards based in Fujian have been increasingly active around the Taipei-held island since an incident when two fishermen died in February
- The patrols and continued PLA activity keep up the pressure on Taiwan ahead of the inauguration later this month of president-elect William Lai
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Beijing is continuing to carry out “regular patrols” in the waters near a Taiwanese-held island off the coast of mainland China ahead of president-elect William Lai Ching-te’s inauguration later this month.
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Mainland China’s coastguard said units based in Fujian, the province nearest Taiwan, had carried out a “regular law enforcement” patrol in the waters near Quemoy, which is also called Kinmen, on Friday.
It was the sixth mission of its kind since an incident on February 14, in which two mainland fishermen died during a pursuit by Taiwan’s coastguard after their boat entered the Quemoy archipelago’s prohibited waters.
It was also the second this week following a similar patrol on Monday, which the mainland coastguard said was intended to “enhance the management of relevant waters”.
In March, they carried two back-to-back patrols involving a total of eight vessels on consecutive days. They were warned away by their Taiwanese counterparts on both occasions.
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In late February, on the same day as a patrol mission, Fujian-based based coastguards carried out a law enforcement exercise in the waters between Quemoy and the nearby mainland city of Xiamen to “test the fast-response and emergency response capabilities” of their vessels.
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War scarred bunkers on Quemoy reflect the islands’ frontline role in Taiwan Strait tension
War scarred bunkers on Quemoy reflect the islands’ frontline role in Taiwan Strait tension
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