US, UK, France, Germany raise alarm about Chinese patrols off eastern Taiwan

The United States, Britain, France and Germany raised the alarm on Wednesday over recent Chinese activities off the east coast of Taiwan where China has mounted Coast Guard patrols, saying they threaten regional stability and freedom of navigation.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, sent Coast Guard ships earlier in June into the waters off the island’s east coast for what it called a “special maritime traffic law-enforcement operation,” angering Taipei.

China said the operation was in response to an announcement by Japan and the Philippines that they would begin formal talks on their maritime boundaries, which Beijing viewed as involving Chinese waters off Taiwan.

China has also been sending maritime survey ships into the same waters.

“China’s actions are deeply destabilizing,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said regarding 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,” the U.S. official said, adding that Beijing was undermining the peaceful resolution of issues that it claims to seek.

The de facto British, French and German embassies in Taipei said in a separate but rare joint statement that the Chinese activity was concerning.

“These actions threaten regional stability and the freedom of navigation and safety of international shipping. We reiterate our opposition to any unilateral change to the status quo, particularly by threat or use of force or coercion,” they said.

“It is fundamental that all navigational rights and freedoms and the safety of seafarers and vessels are guaranteed and respected.”

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S., Britain, France and Germany, like most countries, have no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. But like many Western countries, they have repeatedly voiced concern at Chinese pressure against Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

Merchant ships ‘harassed’

Taiwan says the waters off its east coast are not China’s and that Beijing has no right to claim any sort of jurisdiction.

China said the Coast Guard patrol had inspected 198 passing vessels and “rectified violations” involving three ships, carried out a hydrographic survey and patrolled areas where undersea cables are located.

Taiwan has said 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.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing earlier on Wednesday, Zhang Han, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said the waters Japan and the Philippines were seeking to delineate were China’s exclusive economic zone.

She said the patrols were lawful, legitimate and necessary and that they constituted a just action to “safeguard national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”