China has ignored warnings from the United States and sent a group of ships into Taiwan’s restricted water space, as tensions in the region threaten to boil over.
The ships reportedly breached the water borders just off Taiwan’s frontline Kinmen islands.
Last week, the US State Department urged Beijing to back off as it warned that China’s increasingly hostile attitude towards Taiwan heightened the risk of “miscalculation” – and could lead to direct confrontation.
The warning came after six China Coast Guard officers boarded a Taiwanese tourist boat and inspected passengers’s documents for half an hour. The holidaying groups later told local media they had feared for their lives.
China had vowed to increase maritime law enforcement around Taiwan’s Kinmen islands after two Chinese fishermen died when their speedboat capsised while being chased by Taiwanese authorities.
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However, the US State Department told Newsweek: “We continue to urge restraint and no unilateral change to the status quo, which has preserved peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and throughout the region for decades.
“We urge the PRC to engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan to reduce the risk of miscalculation.”
However, Xi Jinping’s China appears to ignored America’s pleas. A Taiwan minister told reporters today (Tuesday, February 27) that at least five Chinese coast guard ships had entered prohibited or restricted waters around Taiwan yesterday.
Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told parliament he hoped the situation would be “smoothly handled” so it did not escalate. “We don’t want to see any combat conditions occur,” he added.
Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, told reporters the Chinese boats left the area shortly after Taiwan’s coast guard told them to leave.
“The political significance is high, which is a form of a declaration of sovereignty,” she said. China is yet to comment on the incident, reports ABC News.
Earlier this month, China warned the US to expect a “strong and resolute” response after Congress green-lit the sale of $75 million worth of military equipment to Taiwan.
Beijing claimed the move undermined its relationship with the United States and “violates” the main tenets of the One China policy long agreed between the two nations.
