On January 6, 2026, four Chinese coast guard ships intruded into the waters near Kinmen Island in Taiwan in pairs from Lieyu and Luodong to the west. The Taiwan Coast Guard issued a radio broadcast demanding that they immediately change course. The Chinese coast guard fleet turned and left the restricted waters of Kinmen at 5:12 p.m. on the same day.
In a press release by the Taiwan Coast Guard’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch, it was stated that the Chinese coast guard’s provocative activities have been ongoing. Following their intrusion into waters around Matsu and Kinmen’s Wuqiu Islands through military exercises on December 29 and 30, 2025, on the afternoon of January 6, once again, the Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch of the Coast Guard detected a formation of Chinese coast guard ships in the waters surrounding Kinmen, showing signs of disturbance. Consequently, they activated response mechanisms, dispatched patrol boats to intervene and evacuate the intruders.
Around 2 p.m. on the 6th, the twelfth patrol zone of the Coast Guard discovered Chinese coast guard ships gathering in two separate locations in the waters south of Kinmen. Patrol boats were promptly deployed to pre-position in the restricted waters. At 3:10 p.m., four Chinese coast guard ships with numbers “14529,” “14609,” “14603,” and “14533” adopted a pattern of entering the Kinmen restricted water area in pairs from the south of Lieyu and the east of Luodong, aiming to disperse the monitoring capabilities of the Taiwanese authorities.
The pre-positioned patrol boats immediately advanced to conduct one-on-one monitoring to deter the Chinese ships from further encroaching into Kinmen waters. Through both Chinese and English radio broadcasts, stern warnings were issued, demanding immediate course adjustment. With the full effort of the Coast Guard in place to prevent the intrusion, the Chinese coast guard fleet changed course and exited the restricted waters of Kinmen at 5:12 p.m.
The Chinese coast guard has been continuously disturbing the waters of Kinmen over the past week, unilaterally disrupting regional peace and stability, seriously affecting maritime order. The Taiwan Coast Guard has strongly condemned these actions. Despite the severe cold air masses and adverse weather conditions, the Coast Guard maintains a high-intensity monitoring operation and duty deployment round the clock. They are committed to defending national sovereignty, safeguarding freedom, democratic values, and reassure the people of Taiwan.