Taiwan says it drives away 16 Chinese vessels over ‘maritime harassment’
Taiwan’s coast guard said the vessels took part in coordinated operations around the main island and Pratas, a disputed island in the South China Sea.
Taiwan announced on Sunday that it successfully evicted 16 Chinese vessels that were engaging in what the island nation described as "maritime harassment" activities. This coordinated effort involved a significant number of Chinese coast guard, research, and fishing vessels that targeted Taiwan's main island and Pratas, a disputed island located southwest of Taiwan.
Taiwan's coast guard revealed the incident in a statement, highlighting the unusually large scale of the Chinese vessels involved in the coordinated operations. Beijing maintains that Taiwan is an integral part of China and has repeatedly threatened to use force to annex the island. The recent operation follows a previous incident on October 1, where Taiwan's coast guard deployed water cannons against a Chinese recreational fishing vessel near Pratas, prompting a strong reaction from China.
Taiwan maintains control over Pratas, also known as Dongsha, which Beijing also claims, along with most of the strategically significant South China Sea waterway.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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