Taiwan coastguard wards off 16 mainland ships as Beijing turns up the pressure

Taiwan’s coastguard said it warded off 16 mainland Chinese vessels in one day after they sailed into the island’s self-defined restricted waters in a coordinated, multi-pronged operation that experts say points to a shift in Beijing’s maritime pressure tactics.

The vessels – 12 coastguard and research ships, as well as four fishing boats – operated simultaneously on Sunday in waters east of Hualien, south of Pingtung, southwest of Kaohsiung and around the Taiwan-controlled Dongsha Islands, according to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA).

“The CGA monitored the maritime situation throughout the operation and immediately dispatched coastguard vessels to forward positions, where they closely monitored the mainland vessels and broadcast warnings ordering them to leave,” it said in a statement on Sunday.