Taiwan’s coast guard is sounding the alarm after detecting a sharp jump in Chinese government vessel activity around the island last month, with officials warning the pattern could signal preparations to cut off Taiwan’s vital Pacific supply lines.
According to Taiwan Coast Guard data, authorities spotted 55 Chinese government vessels — including coast guard ships and research boats — operating around Taiwan in June. That’s up from 30 sightings in May and represents an 83% increase month over month. Compared to June of last year, when 25 sightings were recorded, the figure has risen by 120%. Those numbers do not include sightings near Taiwan-controlled islands located close to the Chinese coast.
The data highlights the growing role China’s coast guard is playing in Beijing’s ongoing pressure campaign against Taiwan — a campaign that has drawn concern from Western nations including the United States, Britain, France, and Germany.
While China’s military conducts operations near Taiwan on an almost daily basis, Beijing has increasingly deployed its coast guard to reinforce territorial claims. Taiwan officials refer to this tactic as “lawfare” — using legal-seeming actions to establish a basis for Chinese authority around the island.
A senior Taiwan Coast Guard official, speaking on the condition of anonymity at a recent briefing, said the activity points to a serious wartime concern: that China could be practicing how to sever Taiwan’s Pacific connections to its allies.
“If the situation escalates to a blockade — or what would already amount to a quasi-war — we have plans to work with the navy to jointly protect Taiwan’s lifeline sea routes,” the official said.
The official added: “We have anticipated this scenario not only through tabletop exercises but also through live drills.”
China’s defense ministry and its Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to requests for comment.
Beijing does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation and considers the democratic island part of China. Taiwan rejects that position, asserting that Beijing has no right to claim authority over the island or its surrounding waters, and that only the Taiwanese people have the right to determine their own future.
Officials also revealed that some of China’s coast guard ships were originally naval destroyers that have since been repainted and repurposed for coast guard operations. A senior coast guard official said this makes them a more serious threat to Taiwan’s own fleet due to their larger size, greater range, and military-grade equipment.
Chinese coast guard vessels have also begun operating in pairs just outside Taiwan’s economic waters in the Pacific — a vast area that is stretching Taiwan’s comparatively small coast guard thin.
“This places a major strain on the capacity of Taiwan’s coast guard vessels,” the official said.
A second senior official described the Chinese activity as “expansion” and an attempt to alter the existing balance of power in the region. That official also noted that Chinese coast guard ships have been broadcasting messages to commercial vessels, asking them for information about port arrivals and departures — putting pressure on merchant shipping even though no ships have changed course in response.
Taiwan has responded by broadcasting its own messages to those ships, instructing them to continue normal navigation and disregard Chinese interference.
“It knows it has no jurisdiction now, so it is trying to create something out of nothing,” the second official said, also speaking anonymously.
