❓WHAT HAPPENED: Taiwan expelled three Chinese Coast Guard vessels from waters near the contested Pratas Island in the South China Sea.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Taiwan Coast Guard Administration and Chinese Coast Guard vessels.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Near Pratas Island, South China Sea; incidents occurred on September 30 and October 3, 2023.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The Coast Guard Administration will continue to dispatch vessels to patrol and defend the Dongsha area, firmly safeguarding our national sovereignty.” – Taiwan Coast Guard Administration
🎯IMPACT: Tensions between Taiwan and China remain high as maritime forces continue to clash over disputed waters.
Taiwan says it repelled three Chinese Coast Guard ships from waters near the disputed Pratas Island in the South China Sea. The incidents took place on September 30 and October 3, 2023, amid ongoing territorial disputes fueling tensions between the two sides.
Pratas Island, known as Dongsha Island to both Taipei and Beijing, is managed by Taiwan as a marine national park and hosts a small marine garrison. Though Taiwan operates as a self-governing state, China claims the island as its own and has threatened to take control, possibly by force.
Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration reports that on September 30, two Chinese Coast Guard vessels entered restricted waters near Pratas Island at 8:22 AM. The Taiwanese cutter Tainan issued warnings, and the ships left by around 6 PM. On October 3, another Chinese vessel entered the restricted zone, prompting the cutter Taipei to intervene and escort it out. The ship departed around 12:02 AM.
Since January, Taiwan’s Coast Guard has expelled 159 Chinese fishing boats and seized twelve smaller vessels near Dongsha. The Coast Guard stated: “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.”
China has not commented on these incidents. The maritime clashes underscore the broader Taiwan-China conflict, particularly as Beijing deploys forces into contested waters to assert its territorial claims.
Image by Makoto Lin / Office of the President.
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