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On Friday, September 13, Taiwan monitored four Chinese coast guard ships approaching a restricted zone south of Kinmen, according to Taiwan News. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) unit responsible for Kinmen, Matsu, and Penghu quickly deployed four patrol vessels to instruct the Chinese ships to leave. The CGA reported that this marked the 39th such incident near Kinmen this year.
The report also noted that while this was the first incident of its kind in September, Chinese coast guard ships have frequently entered restricted waters near Kinmen since the beginning of the year. China claims it has no obligation to respect patrols around Taiwan-held islands close to Fujian province. In February, two Chinese fishermen died when their unregistered speedboat was pursued by the CGA near Kinmen. In a separate incident in March, two Taiwanese fishermen were detained by China after drifting into Chinese waters due to adverse weather conditions. This recent Chinese military activity is part of a broader pattern of provocations by Beijing in recent months. China has intensified its military presence near Taiwan, with frequent air and naval incursions into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and ongoing military exercises near the island. On Monday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) reported detecting 21 Chinese military aircraft, seven naval vessels, and one official ship operating near Taiwan between 6 am (local time) on Sunday and 6 am (local time) on Monday. According to a report by Taiwan News, since September 2020, China has escalated its use of gray zone tactics by increasing the number of military aircraft and naval vessels operating near Taiwan. Gray zone tactics are described as "an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one's security objectives without resorting to direct and sizable use of force," the report said. Earlier, on September 3, Taiwan's MND accused China of launching a satellite over Taiwan, with its flight path passing over the southwestern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) of the island. Taiwan has been governed independently since 1949; however, China considers Taiwan part of its territory and insists on eventual reunification, by force if necessary. (ANI)
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