An “unusually large” number of Chinese vessels took part in coordinated operations around Taiwan’s main island and Pratas (also known as Dongsha), a disputed island to the southwest, the Taiwanese coastguard said in a statement on Sunday. The Chinese vessels included four fishing boats, which engaged in “simultaneous operations’ that the coastguard described as “hybrid warfare”.
Taiwan’s coastguard said its vessels took “forceful action immediately to effectively neutralise the threats” and accused Beijing of “attempting to unilaterally alter the status quo” in the Taiwan Strait and give the “false impression of jurisdiction”. Some of the vessels reportedly entered Taiwan’s restricted waters.