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Taiwan has deployed vessels to keep an eye on two China Coast Guard ships that were drifting east of the island, according to a report from Friday. This comes as Beijing claims jurisdiction over a stretch of the Western Pacific. China disputes Taiwan's self-governed status and asserts that the waters surrounding the island are under its control, a claim that Taipei vehemently rejects.

Last month, Chinese ships began patrolling a region near Taiwan’s eastern coastline, which Taipei described as "provocative" and "expansionism in disguise". On Friday, state media reported that the China Coast Guard has conducted a "routine law enforcement patrol in the waters east of China’s Taiwan Island". Jiang Lue, a spokesperson for the CCG, stated that the CCG will continue to carry out patrols in areas under China's jurisdiction to firmly protect national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

The coast guard of Taiwan reported that the two Chinese ships were stationary and drifting separately, approximately 151 nautical miles (280 kilometers) east and 43 nautical miles northeast of Orchid Island, which lies off Taiwan's southeast coast. Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration is continuously monitoring these Chinese patrols, labeling them as "Pseudo-law enforcement".

Chinese ships routinely navigate the East China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea to assert territorial claims over disputed waters and islands.

The recent patrolling of waters to the east of Taiwan began last month following dialogues between Japan and the Philippines regarding boundary setting in that area, a move Beijing labeled as "illegal". A recent statement by a Taiwanese security official cautioned that China's "authoritarian expansionism" in regional waters will continue if the international community fails to address the situation.

Lii Wen, deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council, expressed concern that China is "constantly pushing the limits through an incremental salami-slicing approach", according to a forum in international circles.