Two 3,000-ton Chinese Coast Guard ships invaded Dongsha! The 600-ton coastal patrol ship Cijin was forcefully driven away

Coast guard vessel Cijin monitors Chinese coast guard ships. (Provided by Coast Guard)

Two coast guard ships, including the "China Coast Guard 3301" and the "China Coast Guard 3303", each weighing more than 3,000 tons, harassed the waters of Taiwan's Dongsha Island yesterday afternoon. The Coast Guard dispatched a 600-ton "Cijin" ship and a 100-ton coast guard vessel to monitor the situation. This year, China Coast Guard ships have been driven away from Dongsha waters 11 times and 14 times.

It is understood that when China Coast Guard ships infringe on the waters of Dongsha Island, they almost always use large 3,000-ton ships to "press the border". Depending on the tasks assigned, the Coast Guard sometimes uses large ships such as the 4,000-ton Yunlin ship to respond. However, Anping-class frigates such as the 600-ton "Cijin ship" are equipped with Xiongfeng anti-ship missiles and are highly flexible and fast, giving them greater surveillance capabilities.

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The Dongsha Command of the Coast Guard stated that at around 2 pm yesterday (16th), two coast guard ships, including the "China Coast Guard 3301" and "China Coast Guard 3303", were detected in the southwest of Dongsha waters. Based on the course and speed of the two ships, they may have sailed into our restricted waters. The Dongsha Command immediately notified the online service ships "Cijin Ship" and "PP-10032" to the deployment response.

Yesterday at 3:34 pm, "China Coast Guard 3301" and "China Coast Guard 3303" sailed into restricted waters. The Coast Guard "Cijin Ship" and "PP-10032" patrol boats immediately adopted a "one-on-one" method to conduct parallel navigation monitoring, and strongly drove them away with broadcasts in Chinese and English.

The Coast Guard emphasized that my country enjoys indisputable sovereignty over the Dongsha Atoll and its surrounding waters. China is trying to create the illusion of jurisdiction through "pretend law enforcement and real expansion of powers." The Coast Guard severely condemns this and will continue to take all necessary actions to firmly defend national sovereignty and ensure the security of my country's maritime areas.

Large Chinese coast guard ships have repeatedly intruded into the waters off Dongsha Island. (Provided by Coast Guard)