Video Shows Chinese Ships Confronted in Disputed Waters

By Micah McCartney

China News Reporter

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Video released by Taiwan shows the island's Coast Guard challenging a Chinese Coast Guard vessel in the Taiwan Strait after it entered what Taipei considers restricted waters.

Why It Matters

The encounter took place in waters around the Taipei-administered island county of Kinmen, which sits just off the Chinese coast. China has stepped up patrols in the area since a February 2024 accident that saw Chinese fishermen drowned near Kinmen while being pursued by Taiwan’s Coast Guard.

China insists the deployments are regular law enforcement inspections, while Taiwanese analysts have suggested they aim to normalize Beijing's presence in the area.

China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, though the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing has never governed there. Beijing has repeatedly vowed to bring the island democracy under its control, by force if necessary, and has increased military activities around Taiwan, prompting the island to ramp up defense spending and drills on countering an invasion.

Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Defense Ministry by email with a request for comment outside of regular office hours.

What To Know

Four Chinese Coast Guard cutters were detected around 8 a.m. local time Thursday, reportedly operating with their automatic identification system (AIS) switched off, "showing clear intent to intrude," Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said in a statement, adding that it responded by immediately dispatching four of its own patrol boats.

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By 9 a.m., the Chinese ships had entered what Taiwan considers restricted waters, splitting into two pairs—one approaching from the southwest of Lieyu (Lesser Kinmen) and the other from the southeast of the main Kinmen island near Liaoluo Bay.

"Please turn away immediately and leave our waters at once. Otherwise, our vessel will take necessary actions according to the law," a Taiwan Coast Guard official can be heard saying while hailing one of the Chinese ships in a video making the rounds on social media.

The Taiwanese cutters intercepted the vessels, maneuvering in parallel to prevent their Chinese counterparts from sailing further into Taiwan-claimed waters, according to the statement. The Chinese ships reportedly left the "restricted waters" at 5 p.m.

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Taiwan’s Coast Guard said it maintained full control of the situation and "forcefully expelled" the Chinese ships. The statement noted that while the Chinese Coast Guard had avoided the disputed zone in October, they have "intruded" three times so far this month, amid what it called "escalating tensions between China and Japan."

What People Are Saying

Taiwan's Coast Guard wrote: "Given the recent China-Japan situation, the Coast Guard continues to closely monitor maritime activities and will promptly and prudently respond to any abnormal signs."

Zhu Anqing, spokesperson for the China Coast Guard's East China Sea Branch, said in September: "The Fujian [province] Coast Guard has organized ship formations to continuously strengthen law enforcement patrols in the waters near Kinmen, further strengthening control over the relevant maritime areas. These efforts actively provide security for the fishing season and earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests, as well as the lives and property, of Chinese fishermen—including those from the Taiwan region."

What Happens Next

The agency pledged to maintain "round-the-clock, high-intensity surveillance, response, and deployment—regardless of time or sea conditions." China's Coast Guard had yet to publicly acknowledge the incident as of time of writing.

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