Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) deployed more than five vessels on Sunday after detecting four Chinese government ships departing Xiamen and moving toward waters east of the island, marking a geographic expansion of Chinese maritime pressure to Taiwan’s Pacific-facing flank.
4 sorties of PLA aircraft, 9 PLAN vessels and 7 official ships operating around Taiwan detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded. pic.twitter.com/5JEdd5pnmJ
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) June 7, 2026
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed four People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft sorties, nine PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels, and seven official ships operating around the island as of 6 a.m. local time on June 8. The CGA said it “has deployed the necessary vessels to respond appropriately.”
“China does not enjoy any sovereign rights in the waters east of Taiwan,” the CGA said in a statement, adding that the Chinese operation “violates international law.”
National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu posted a video on X showing CGA personnel broadcasting directly to Chinese vessels. “This is not your waters. You don’t belong here. Turn around and leave, now,” the broadcast stated.
Big 👍 to #Taiwan‘s CG broadcasting to #China‘s CG: “This is not your waters. You don’t belong here. Turn around & leave, NOW.” #CCG 3501 was driven out, but a fleet of large vessels has left #Xiamen for our eastern #EEZ to show muscle. The #PRC is nothing but a big fat bully. pic.twitter.com/9nHlG0LdPn
— Joseph Wu (@josephwutw) June 7, 2026
Beijing’s Ministry of Transport deployed the flotilla, which includes mainland China’s largest patrol vessel, to conduct joint patrols with a coast guard formation already operating in the area since June 1.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua described the operation as “a necessary action” in response to Japan and the Philippines “unilaterally announcing the start of maritime boundary negotiations” in waters east of Taiwan, which Beijing denounced as “illegal and invalid.”
The operation marks the first time Beijing has used the Japan-Philippines exclusive economic zone (EEZ) boundary talks as legal justification for asserting coast guard jurisdiction specifically east of Taiwan, a theater where China’s maritime enforcement presence has historically been weaker than in the Taiwan Strait.
The escalation follows a standoff that began on June 5 near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands, roughly 250 miles southwest of Taiwan. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 ignored radio warnings from patrol boat Xunhu No. 9 and accelerated from five to nine knots before making an abrupt turn into Taiwan’s claimed restricted waters.
By the following day, a Chinese survey vessel joined the deployment, marking the first coordinated Chinese coast guard and research vessel operation near the Pratas.
The activity is part of “a recent string of Chinese gray-zone actions against Taiwan” since the May 14–15 Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, defense analyst Bryce Barros of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research told Newsweek, adding that Beijing may be “testing resolve in Taipei, Washington, and allied capitals.”
