Australia has raised concerns about Beijing’s maritime activities near Taiwan directly with Chinese officials, as reports suggest a changing strategy in the region.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, sent coast guard ships last month into the waters off Taiwan’s east coast for what it called a “special maritime traffic law-enforcement operation”.
Beijing said the operation was in response to an announcement by Japan and the Philippines that formal talks would begin on their maritime boundaries, which Beijing viewed as involving Chinese waters off Taiwan.
According to Chinese state media, China inspected 198 passing vessels in June and “rectified” three ships that violated Chinese regulations.
The reports suggested the operation demonstrated China’s strengthened “traffic control capabilities” in the area.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told the ABC that Canberra had a clear interest in “peace and stability, unimpeded trade, and freedom of navigation”.
A map shows the location of a Chinese vessel on the east coast of Taiwan during an operation in June. (ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser)
“We oppose any unilateral action to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and encourage dialogue rather than coercion or the use of force,” the spokesperson said, adding that concerns had been raised “directly to Chinese officials”.
China’s inspection and patrolling last month angered Taiwan.
On Wednesday, a senior Taiwanese official said that Taiwanese ships off the island’s east coast should ignore any boarding and inspection demands by China’s coast guard and, if necessary, Taiwanese Coast Guard vessels would intervene.
Taiwan claimed that three passing merchant ships in the area were “harassed” by the Chinese coast guard, which asked them for information about their points of origin and destination and claimed jurisdiction.
In 2024, Chinese coast guard personnel briefly boarded a Taiwanese tourist boat near Taiwan-controlled islands next to China’s coast.
Signs of a changing strategy
Reports emerged in Chinese media that Beijing was deploying a new strategy called “near-shore governance”.
China’s state broadcaster CCTV explained it as China expanding its governance beyond the Strait of Taiwan to “waters east of Taiwan Island”, treating the waters as the country’s “near shore”.
China considers Taiwan a “renegade province”, but Taiwan says it is an independent country. (Reuters: Dado Ruvic)
Taiwan-based security expert William Chung said Beijing was using more non-military means to intensify its presence and aimed to assert its sovereignty over Taiwan and related regions.
“It [China’s operation] can be under the Maritime Bureau or the Ministry of Natural Resources, [or under the name of] scientific research, ocean surveying, or fishery administration,’ Dr Chung said.
He said it was possible that Beijing would continue to focus on commercial ships in the region into the future.
“It can be much more effective than military drills,” he said.
“[The drills] were costly and might only last for a short period of time.”
Allies also raise concerns
Last week, the UK, France and Germany issued a rare joint statement to voice their concerns over China’s operation.
“It is fundamental that all navigational rights and freedoms and the safety of seafarers and vessels are guaranteed and respected,” the statement said.
The US described Beijing’s actions as “deeply destabilising” and said it was concerned about reports that Chinese coast guard vessels were harassing commercial ships.
“We reject any assertion by China of authority to interfere with freedoms of navigation or overflight, the freedom to lay cables, or other lawful uses of the sea,” a US State Department spokesperson said.
Last week, a spokesperson from China’s foreign ministry said that the country’s activities off Taiwan’s east coast were “legitimate” and other countries needed to respect Chinese sovereignty.
According to China’s official Xinhua News Agency, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and urged the US to handle matters related to Taiwan with “the utmost caution”.
The ABC contacted China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence and the Chinese coast guard for comments, but did not receive a response.
