Chinese ships leave Taiwan’s restricted waters after warning

Taiwan’s Defence Minister Wellington Koo said the four Chinese vessels that had intruded into Taiwan’s restricted waters left the area early on June 8 and headed eastward after Taiwan’s Coast Guard dispatched vessels to warn them off.

Koo has described the incident as a “provocative act,” saying the military will work closely with the island’s Coast Guard in responding to such activities, Caliber.Az reports, citing Reuters.

“First this ​is a provocative act, and second it is cognitive warfare,” Koo said in parliament.

“They are attempting to first claim the eastern waters as their domain, like casting a large spider's web over the area," he added. "This is a serious affront to our national sovereignty."

The move followed an announcement by Japan and the Philippines that they would begin formal talks on maritime boundary delimitation, a decision that drew criticism from China.

Chinese state media later published footage showing a Chinese officer warning Taiwan’s Coast Guard, saying: “aware of your language - the two sides of the ‌Taiwan ⁠Strait are both part of one China.”

Koo said the military would maintain close coordination with the Coast Guard through continuous intelligence sharing and joint monitoring efforts.

Taiwan is also tracking an extended deployment of the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning in the Western Pacific. According to Koo, the carrier is currently operating in waters east of the Philippines.

China has never ruled out the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, while Taiwan’s government continues to reject Beijing’s sovereignty claims over the island.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov