Chinese vessels patrol Taiwan Strait to close jurisdictional gap: Experts

Taipei, Aug. 19 (CNA) A patrol and law enforcement operation carried out by official Chinese vessels in the Taiwan Strait could indirectly expand Beijing's jurisdiction to the median line of the strait, as a way of eliminating jurisdictional gaps, experts have told CNA.

The operation, jointly launched by the Chinese Ministry of Transport's Fujian Maritime Safety Administration and its East China Sea rescue bureau, was conducted from Saturday to Sunday, after China's three-and-a-half-month fishing moratorium concluded on Aug. 16, according to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency.

The operation involved three public service ships, lasted 30.5 hours and covered a total distance of 413 nautical miles, with the aim being to "enhance traffic management and emergency rescue capabilities in the strait to ensure the safety of vessels, facilities and personnel," Xinhua reported.

A new media website under China Central Television also reported that the operation reached 2 nautical miles east of the central part of the Taiwan Strait, while the southernmost point reached the Taiwan Shoal, claiming to cover "a wider area than in previous years."

The Taiwan Shoal, situated southwest of Penghu County and near the median line of the Taiwan Strait, falls within Taiwan's exclusive economic zone, encompassing approximately 8,800 square kilometers with a water depth ranging from 8 to 40 meters, according to the National Academy of Marine Research.

The report also mentioned that the operation was "a further extension of regularization," with the relevant departments in China having established a big data system for more comprehensive management of the strait.

Commenting on the issue, Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at Taiwan's government-funded think tank, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said Beijing's move to include the Taiwan Shoal and waters near Penghu as part of the patrol area may indirectly lead to an expansion of jurisdiction to the strait's median line, indicating an attempt to turn the strait into "quasi-internal waters."

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Taiwan Strait is not considered internal waters (waters on the landward side of the baseline), the Chinese authorities therefore have adopted a "salami slicing" strategy to gradually assert jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait, Su said.

Criticizing the operation as indirectly eroding the sovereignty of the Republic of China (Taiwan's official name), Su predicts that such actions could occur more frequently in the future and their scope be gradually expanded.

Chieh Chung (揭仲), a researcher at the Taiwan-based Association of Strategic Foresight, said that the operation reflected China's view of the Taiwan government as a "local government" with no authority to issue laws governing traffic in the strait.

"On one hand, the Chinese Communist Party is trying to eliminate the gap in jurisdictional areas, and on the other, it is denying our laws and orders through these actions," Chieh said.

The Chinese authorities have been pushing a legal battle in the Taiwan Strait since June 2022, with the key objective being to claim jurisdiction over most of the strait, Chieh said.

He cited the example of the Kinmen speedboat incident, during which China's Taiwan Affairs Office said "there is simply no such thing as so-called 'prohibited or restricted waters.'"

According to Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA), prohibited waters and restricted waters are designated by the Ministry of National Defense in accordance with the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, with waters around the Taiwan-held Kinmen and Matsu Islands being delineated using a polygonal method.

Under the act, no Chinese vessels, civil aircraft or other means of transportation are allowed to enter Taiwan's restricted or prohibited waters, including those in the outlying islands.

Regarding the patrol and law enforcement operation carried out by the three Chinese vessels, Taiwan's CGA said Sunday that the three ships briefly crossed the median line by 3.2 nautical miles at 12:25 p.m. on Saturday before heading back towards China.