(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) Since this summer, China has gradually expanded its military pressure on Taiwan and gray zone operations to the Western Pacific. Reuters reported on Thursday (October 8) that a fishing vessel "Fujian Fuding Yu 07902" identified as a maritime militia ship appeared in the waters east of Taiwan. It was the first time such a vessel was found in this sensitive waters.
The report exclusively quoted a surveillance report from Apex Aviation, stating that in mid-August this year, a reconnaissance aircraft operated by the company discovered the Chinese militia ship more than 30 nautical miles (about 50 kilometers) away from the coast of Hualien in eastern Taiwan, sailing together with a Chinese Coast Guard ship and a Chinese scientific research ship in the eastern waters of Taiwan.
"Ansett Airlines" is Taiwan's private aviation operator, which mainly provides flight training and charter services. The company said it was not disclosing the specific date the vessel was discovered to avoid counter-reconnaissance threats.
Two anonymous senior Taiwanese officials confirmed to Reuters that China's "Fujian Fudingyu 07902", Haixun 2502 and Xiangyanghong 03 scientific research vessels were operating in waters near Taiwan in mid-August this year.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense stated that China uses the name of law enforcement and scientific research to package intrusive acts and create the illusion of actual jurisdiction. In addition to seriously damaging the international order and challenging Taiwan's maritime law enforcement rights, the Ministry of National Defense will coordinate with the Coast Guard to respond appropriately. China's Taiwan Affairs Office and the Ministry of National Defense did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Taiwan's Central News Agency reported that a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said in response to the media's inquiry that Taiwan has peacefully governed the relevant waters for more than 70 years. China's assertion of jurisdiction over these waters will only exacerbate tensions and undermine the peaceful resolution of various issues that China claims to pursue. "We urge Beijing to cease its pressure on Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan's democratically elected authorities."
Chinese maritime militia from the South China Sea to waters east of Taiwan
This is the first known sighting of a Chinese maritime militia vessel in waters east of Taiwan. In the past, such vessels were more commonly found in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
According to research by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a think tank in Washington, China’s maritime militia is a paramilitary force composed of fishermen and professional fleets that can be mobilized by the military system. It is often regarded as one of the important tools for China’s gray zone operations.
Such vessels are usually disguised as ordinary fishing boats and appear on islands and sensitive waters with disputed sovereignty. Their crews are trained to assist the Chinese navy and coast guard in performing maritime tasks.
A report released by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a program under CSIS, earlier this year pointed out that China’s maritime militia deployment in the South China Sea hit a record high in 2025, with a daily average of 241 ships. Data shows that its activities are mainly concentrated on Mischief Reef (Mischief Reef) and Oxbow Reef (Whitsun Reef).
China's gray zone operations against Taiwan have mostly focused on the Taiwan Strait in the past, but since this summer, some observations and analysts believe that China is increasing its military and gray zone activities in the waters east of Taiwan.
At the end of May this year, Japan and the Philippines announced that they would launch formal negotiations on the demarcation of their exclusive economic zones (EEZ) and continental shelf, covering the waters east of Taiwan, triggering concerns from Taiwan and criticism from China.
China subsequently announced the launch of a "Special Maritime Traffic Law Enforcement Operation" in the waters east of Taiwan in response, saying that this was the first time that it had conducted law enforcement and scanning in the sea area under the framework of "maritime traffic law enforcement" and included the area into "normalized law enforcement management" to form an "offshore governance" model.
Taiwan officials criticized at the time that China was trying to create the illusion that it had jurisdiction over waters east of Taiwan and other waters. The so-called "normalized offshore governance" was a new type of gray zone conflict.
Due to the strategic importance of the waters east of Taiwan, it is an important sea and air channel connecting Taiwan, the Philippine Sea, the southwestern islands of Japan and the wider Western Pacific. If China launches an invasion or blockade of Taiwan, this sea area will be crucial for Taiwan to receive international support and wartime supplies.
