In recent years, Chinese coast guard ships have been constantly conducting gray zone provocations around the Taiwan Strait and outer islands of Taiwan. At the same time, Chinese fishing vessels have been frequently trespassing into Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone waters. To protect maritime sovereignty and preserve marine resources, the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration recently took the rare step of using water cannons to forcefully drive away Chinese fishing boats that trespassed into Taiwanese waters.
The coast guard vessel Taichung (CG 1002) and Patrol Vessel No. 9 of Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration discovered the Chinese fishing vessel “Yuè Shēn Shàn Yú 11366” illegally entering the waters near Dongsha Island on May 3. They used water cannons to expel the Chinese fishing vessel, demonstrating Taiwan’s determination to defend its economic waters. Currently, it is the closed fishing season in the Dongsha Island area, with Taiwan prohibiting any fishing boat from going out to sea for fishing.
Taiwan implements an annual closed fishing season from May 1 to August 16 in most of the South China Sea. This closed fishing season also applies to parts of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, lasting until September 16. During this period, all distant water fishing vessels must return to port and cease operations to allow fisheries resources to recover.
The Coast Guard Administration also condemned China for failing to enforce its annual fishing ban. They stated that despite the commencement of the closed fishing season on May 1, Chinese fishing boats continued their operations at sea, highlighting China’s inadequate ocean management. The Coast Guard Administration pledged to rigorously enforce the law, effectively deterring Chinese vessels from crossing boundaries, and urged China to restrain its fishing boats from illegal fishing in the Dongsha Island area, which could harm marine ecology and violate universal values of marine conservation.
The incident took place in the Dongsha Islands National Park under Taiwan’s jurisdiction, an area claimed by both Taiwan and China as the Dongsha Islands. Dongsha Island, the main island in the Dongsha Islands, covers an area of 1.8 square kilometers and is one of the largest islands among hundreds of reefs in the South China Sea. Since 2024, the Taiwanese navy has a military presence on the island.
Statistics show that from January of this year to date, the Coast Guard Administration has expelled a total of 30 Chinese fishing vessels trespassing in the Dongsha Island area, totaling 111 incidents, and detained 7 small boats.
The Taichung, a coast guard vessel built by Taiwan’s shipbuilding company, measures 98.5 meters in length, 13.2 meters in width, has a displacement of 2167 tons, and a maximum speed of 24 knots. It was commissioned in December 2023 and equipped with a maritime control system developed by the Institute of Oceanography, 4 high-pressure water cannons with a range of 120 meters, and 2 search and rescue boats, along with a flight deck for helicopter operations.
Patrol Vessel No. 9, built by CSBC Corporation, Taiwan, measures 84.5 meters in length, 12.5 meters in width, has a displacement of 1915 tons, and a maximum speed of 20 knots. It commenced service in January 2011 and is equipped with 4 high-pressure water cannons with a range of 100 meters and 2 search and rescue boats.
Under the leadership of the Taiwanese government headed by Lai Ching-te, tensions between China and Taiwan are expected to persist. With pressure to defend territorial claims and counter gray zone provocations still present, Taiwan is expected to continue responding forcefully to Chinese fishing vessels operating within its controlled waters.