On May 29, 2025, Taiwan – The Coast Guard Administration of the Ocean Affairs Council of the Republic of China, Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu Division, reported that on the morning of the 28th, they detected 4 Chinese coast guard ships appearing in the waters around Kinmen. The Taiwan Coast Guard dispatched 4 patrol boats to monitor the situation and successfully drove away the Chinese ships.
According to a press release from the Republic of China Coast Guard, at 8:50 am on the 28th, radar surveillance from the 12th (Kinmen) patrol area detected four Chinese coast guard ships, with identification numbers “14603”, “14608”, “14609”, and “14513”, sailing provocatively along the restricted waters line near the southeastern direction of Loro Island and southwestern direction of Damao Mountain, disrupting the waters around Kinmen.
Responding to this, the Kinmen Coast Guard team of the Republic of China Coast Guard dispatched four patrol boats, including boats 3505, 10039, 10081, and 10083, to immediately monitor and warn the Chinese coast guard ships to veer off course through radio broadcasts in Chinese and English. The entire operation was recorded and after being successfully driven away, the Chinese coast guard ships exited the restricted waters around Kinmen at 11:03 am on the same day.
Additionally, the Republic of China Coast Guard stated that around 8 am on the 28th, utilizing combined surveillance means, they detected the Chinese coast guard ship with the unopened AIS identifier, “3102”, entering the restricted waters around Dongsha Island, about 27 nautical miles north-northeast. The Republic of China Coast Guard promptly dispatched the Dongsha Special Task Ship, “Patrol No. 8”, to monitor the situation and forcefully broadcast commands to drive away the intruding ship.
The Republic of China Coast Guard expressed that the harassing actions of the 4 Chinese coast guard ships in the waters around Kinmen also simultaneously disrupted the Dongsha Sea area. This may not be excluded from being China’s attempt to test their patrol deployment in Dongsha by continually probing Taiwanese waters with increasing pressure, thus disrupting regional peace and stability. They strongly condemned these actions for escalating cross-strait tensions and disturbing the overall peace in the region.
The Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu Coast Guard Division stated that at around 2:00 pm on the 27th, they detected the presence of 4 Chinese coast guard ships, with identification numbers “14609”, “14603”, “14608”, and “14513”, in the waters around Kinmen. The coast guard promptly dispatched 4 patrol boats to monitor and through radio broadcasts in Chinese and English, ordered the Chinese coast guard ships to change course. By 4:55 pm to 5:00 pm, the Chinese coast guard ships left the restricted waters around Kinmen.
Since the incident in Kinmen on February 14, 2024, the Chinese coast guard, under the guise of “law enforcement patrols,” has been harassing the waters around Kinmen since February 18 of the same year. Despite a memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides on July 30, the Chinese coast guard has continued their provocations, conducting an average of 4 incursions per month, each lasting 2 hours. Analyzing their navigation patterns, it has become “normalized harassment”, far from “law enforcement patrols”, affecting the atmosphere between both sides and disrupting regional peace and stability.
The Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu Coast Guard Division will continue to uphold a firm law enforcement stance, closely monitoring Chinese coast guard activities and deploying patrol vessels preemptively. Upon any occurrence, immediate monitoring and expulsion will be executed, with enforcement footage publicly disclosed, debunking any false information spread by the Chinese coast guard in order to uphold national sovereignty and stabilize public morale.