CGA shadows Chinese vessels near Taiwan amid uptick in PLA activity

Taipei, Dec. 9 (CNA) Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) on Monday deployed patrol vessels to shadow four Chinese coast guard ships amid an uptick in People's Liberation Army (PLA) activity in waters around Taiwan.

While the fleet did not enter Taiwan-controlled "restricted" or "prohibited" waters, the movements of Chinese coast guard vessels 2302, 2203, 2304, and 2307 were part of a pattern of "unusual" activity detected since the early hours of Dec. 6, the CGA said in a statement.

This has included the 12,000-tonne Chinese coast guard vessel 2901 sailing into the southern part of the Taiwan Strait and vessels 1301 and 1302 sailing south from waters northeast of China, the CGA said.

The three Chinese coast guard ships reached an area 50 to 60 nautical miles (92.6 to 111.1 kilometers) east-northeast of Green Island, where they are currently loitering.

The CGA said that patrol vessels were immediately deployed to shadow all of the Chinese ships in a one-on-one configuration.

In addition, a response command center has been in operation since Dec. 6, the CGA said.

The CGA said it would continue to closely monitor Chinese coast guard movements in waters around Taiwan by sharing information with the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and the country's allies.

Earlier Monday, the MND announced that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) had sent warships into waters around Taiwan and designated seven areas east of China's coastal Zhejiang and Fujian provinces as temporary reserved airspace areas until Wednesday.

In a post on X, the MND said: "#PLA designated 7 reserved airspace zones east of Zhejiang and Fujian. #ROCArmedForces have identified PLA Eastern, Northern, and Southern Theater Command naval formations, along with Coast Guard vessels, entering areas around the Taiwan Strait and the Western Pacific."

Security officials quoted by local and foreign media have suggested that China could launch military exercises in response to U.S. stopovers made by President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) during a recently concluded tour of Taiwan's South Pacific allies.