In the central and northern areas of the Taiwan Strait, China's Fujian Maritime Safety Administration has begun a three-day special joint patrol and inspection operation, which includes boarding ships, according to the administration's WeChat account.
This development comes as tensions between China and Taiwan escalate, with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hosting Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California on Wednesday, marking the highest-level meeting between a U.S. official and a Taiwanese leader on American soil in decades.
On Wednesday, the maritime safety authority in the southeastern Chinese province announced that the operation would entail "on-site inspections" of direct cargo ships and construction vessels on both sides of the Taiwan Strait "to ensure the safety of vessel navigation and ensure the safe and orderly operation of key projects on water."
In a statement released late Wednesday, Taiwan's Transport Ministry's Maritime and Ports Bureau expressed strong opposition to China's move. The bureau informed relevant shipping operators that if they receive such requests from China, they should decline and promptly contact Taiwan's coast guard for assistance.
The statement warned, "If the mainland side insists on taking one-sided actions, it will create obstacles to normal exchanges between the two sides. We will be forced to take corresponding measures," though no specifics were provided.
The operation covers areas such as the Pingtan Taiwan direct container route, the "small three links" passenger route, the Taiwan Strait vessel customary route, densely navigable zones for commercial and fishing vessels, and locations with frequent illegal sand mining activities.
The "small three links" passenger route refers to boat routes between Taiwan's Kinmen and Matsu islands, located opposite Chinese cities.
The fleet, collaborating with the East China Sea Rescue Bureau and the East China Sea Navigation Support Center, will continue to conduct cruise inspections in the central and northern sections of the Taiwan Strait for the next two days.
