Taiwan coast guard repels Chinese vessel from Dongsha restricted waters

Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a Chinese Coast Guard ship from restricted waters near Dongsha Island on Saturday, as a defense analyst warned that Beijing is intensifying gray-zone pressure on Taiwan's maritime perimeter.

The interception and expulsion

At 7:25 a.m. Saturday (May 23), the Dongsha and Nansha Regions Branch of the CGA detected Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel 3501 approaching the restricted waters around Dongsha Island.

According to the CGA, the vessel’s course indicated an apparent intent to enter Taiwan-designated restricted waters, prompting the immediate deployment of the patrol ship Taichung for forward interception.

At 8:34 a.m., vessel 3501 crossed into the restricted waters. The Taichung began close-range shadowing operations and repeatedly issued expulsion warnings in both Chinese and English. The two sides also engaged in a radio exchange over competing sovereignty claims.

The CGA said the Chinese vessel broadcast the following: “The People's Republic of China holds sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Dongsha Islands. Our vessel is conducting a routine patrol mission; please do not interfere with our actions.”

The Taichung responded: “Your behavior precisely proves that China's peace is a hoax, and the international community will not support you. Please do not destroy peace. You should return and strive for democracy — that is the correct way to serve your country. Now, please turn around immediately and leave our waters as soon as possible, or our vessel will take necessary actions in accordance with the law.”

CGA’s statement

The CGA said that since the start of 2026, a total of four Chinese Coast Guard vessels across six transits have been expelled from Dongsha's restricted waters. 

Officials drew a parallel between these incursions and recent illegal entries by Chinese research vessels into Taiwan's waters, characterizing both as part of a deliberate "battlefield preparation" strategy. 

"The sovereignty of the Republic of China (Taiwan) brooks no provocation," the CGA said in a statement, adding that standard operating procedures have been established to counter gray-zone threats from Chinese government and research vessels, and that joint surveillance and reconnaissance measures are in place to monitor and respond appropriately. 

The CGA said Taiwan possesses both the determination to defend its sovereignty and the capability to preserve peace, and vowed to continue working with like-minded partners to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific while taking all necessary measures to safeguard national sovereignty and maritime security.

China’s gray-zone activities

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), director of the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), told TCN that the CCG has recently shifted both its tactics and operational patterns, signaling that Beijing is gradually consolidating effective control over the First Island Chain through non-military means.

Near Dongsha, Su said, Chinese vessels have begun deliberately switching off their AIS automatic identification systems, probing the detection capabilities of Taiwan's coastal radar network while simultaneously draining CGA patrol resources.

Dongsha lies roughly 450 kilometers from Taiwan's main island, making reinforcement difficult, Su noted. Sustaining high-intensity patrols over the long term will steadily deplete the CGA's fleet capacity.

Su also pointed to recent activity by the Chinese research vessel Tongji in waters surrounding Taiwan as evidence that gray-zone pressure has intensified following the recent leadership summit between the United States and China.

Citing National Security Council Secretary-General Wu Jau-shieh (吳釗燮), Su noted that approximately 120 Chinese government vessels of various types are currently operating across the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea. 

Combined with the continued deployment of the Liaoning carrier strike group in the Western Pacific, this reflects a pattern in which Beijing — while avoiding large-scale military exercises against Taiwan this year — is steadily raising both the intensity and frequency of gray-zone operations, Su added.

Beijing, Su assessed, is currently avoiding formal escalation framed as military exercises, and instead using Coast Guard ships, government vessels, and low-intensity harassment to progressively compress the maritime space around Taiwan — gradually building presence and control along the First Island Chain.

CGA's growing strategic weight

China is waging a new "exhaustion campaign" against Taiwan, Su argued. As the first line of defense for Taiwan's surrounding waters, the CGA, if worn down over time, would transfer mounting pressure directly onto the Navy, driving up the overall cost and burden of national defense.

“In the face of gray-zone threats, the importance of the Coast Guard may eventually surpass that of the navy,” Su said.

More resources needed 

Su said Chinese activity around Taiwan's waters is already encroaching on the 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone. 

Beyond the strain of high-frequency patrols, he said, the CGA also faces a resource shortfall — its annual budget of approximately NT$30 billion is clearly insufficient relative to operational demands.

The government, Su argued, should increase investment in the CGA and consider establishing a dedicated aviation unit to enable more efficient surveillance of surrounding waters. 

Every other coast guard in the First Island Chain region — Japan, South Korea, China, and the Philippines — operates maritime aviation assets, he pointed out. Taiwan alone lacks a coast guard aviation corps, Su said, leaving it dependent on shore patrols and surface vessels, a gap that creates exploitable blind spots.

An aerial maritime patrol capability — functioning like an "eagle eye" surveying the sea from above — would enable earlier detection of low-radar-signature targets such as Chinese speedboats and inflatable craft, and could guide CGA vessels and shore units to deploy intercepts ahead of time, significantly improving enforcement effectiveness, Su added.