With Taiwan excluded from Japan-Philippines EEZ talks, experts urge Taipei to stand firm

China launched a maritime enforcement operation east of Taiwan on June 6 in response to Japan and the Philippines beginning exclusive economic zone delimitation negotiations in an area that significantly overlaps with Taiwan's claimed EEZ, prompting experts to urge Taipei to defend its maritime rights.

China's Ministry of Transport said the operation was intended to exercise its maritime administrative law enforcement jurisdiction and safeguard China's national interests.

On June 7, Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said four Chinese government vessels entered restricted waters southwest of Taiwan, prompting Taiwanese coast guard vessels to conduct one-on-one shadowing operations. After Taiwan issued radio warnings demanding the vessels leave the area, the two sides entered a prolonged standoff.

Japan-Philippines EEZ negotiations

Japan and the Philippines announced on May 28 that they would begin formal negotiations to delimit their EEZs. The proposed delimitation area overlaps significantly with Taiwan's claimed EEZ, although Taiwan was not invited to participate in the talks.

China's Foreign Ministry quickly protested the initiative on May 29, arguing that the negotiations infringed upon China's maritime rights and interests and violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), as well as other principles of international law.

China views self-ruled Taiwan — officially the Republic of China (ROC) — as a breakaway province and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve unification.

On June 1, China Coast Guard (CCG) dispatched a task force to waters east of Taiwan for what it described as law enforcement patrols, saying the deployment was a response to the Japan-Philippines negotiations.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs initially issued a statement on May 31 supporting the Japan-Philippines initiative. However, on June 3, it clarified that both Tokyo and Manila had assured Taipei that any future agreement would not affect Taiwan's sovereign rights under international law and the law of the sea, nor alter existing fisheries arrangements between Taiwan and either country.

At the same time, Taiwan reiterated that the proposed negotiation area substantially overlaps with Taiwan's EEZ off its eastern coast and urged Japan and the Philippines to fully consider Taiwan's interests and consult Taipei on relevant issues.

Taiwan’s Defense Minister Koo Li-hsiung (顧立雄) told reporters on June 8 that China's maritime enforcement operation was "a provocative act and a form of cognitive warfare," aimed at portraying waters east of Taiwan as an area subject to Chinese law enforcement jurisdiction. 

Taiwan must clearly state its position

Huang Chieh-cheng (黃介正), a professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, argued that Taiwan must clearly articulate and defend its position.

Huang told TCN that Taiwan should firmly maintain its position that the ROC, in accordance with its Constitution and relevant laws, has well-established claims over its territorial sea, contiguous zone, and EEZ. He argued that the government should explicitly reject and refuse to recognize any arrangement that could affect Taiwan's maritime rights and interests.

According to Huang, firmly defending Taiwan's maritime rights is not only essential to safeguarding national sovereignty but also serves as an important foundation for maintaining stability in cross-strait relations.

"If Taiwan does not stand firm, China will," Huang said.

Japan and the Philippines should engage Taiwan

Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), told TCN that Taiwan's representative offices in Japan and the Philippines should quickly engage with the two governments' diplomatic and fisheries authorities to better understand the negotiations and reiterate Taiwan's maritime claims.

Shen said Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines could address overlapping maritime claims through bilateral or multilateral fisheries agreements to prevent tensions from escalating. He argued that the ongoing delimitation talks are not necessarily intended to sideline Taiwan or absorb Taiwan's EEZ claims.

Given Washington's efforts to strengthen cooperation among countries along the First Island Chain, Shen said neither Japan nor the Philippines has an incentive to sacrifice Taiwan's interests. If Taiwan were brought under Chinese control, he noted, the region's strategic environment would be fundamentally altered and maritime rights across the area could be redrawn.

Shen added that Japan and the Philippines should proactively communicate with Taiwan and address overlapping maritime zones and fisheries disputes through bilateral mechanisms.

Toward a new normal?

Shen warned that if Japan and the Philippines proceed with maritime delimitation without consulting Taiwan, Beijing could use the situation as justification for greater involvement.

China may claim that because Taiwan is part of China, waters east of Taiwan and the surrounding EEZ also fall under Chinese jurisdiction, he said. Such claims could be accompanied by increased deployments of CCG vessels or naval ships, potentially normalizing Chinese patrols in the area, Shen noted.

Huang likewise said whether China eventually establishes routine patrols east of Taiwan will depend on Beijing's decisions, but Taiwan must also maintain a visible law enforcement presence.

Beyond enforcing laws within Taiwan's territorial sea and contiguous zone, Huang argued that the CGA should continue exercising administrative authority whenever Taiwan's EEZ rights or fishermen's interests are involved.

"If you do not go, others naturally will," Huang said, emphasizing that Taiwan must continuously defend its rights to prevent their erosion.

China's narrative campaign

Shen noted that although Chinese military vessels and coast guard ships have entered waters east of Taiwan during previous military exercises, such deployments have generally been linked to specific events.

However, if Beijing increasingly claims jurisdiction over the area, coast guard patrols could gradually become institutionalized and routine, similar to China's law enforcement presence around the Senkaku Islands, Shen said.

According to Shen, the primary objective would be to reinforce the political and legal narrative that Taiwan belongs to China and that Taiwan's eastern EEZ should therefore also be considered part of China's maritime jurisdiction.

Strategic implications

Asked whether China's actions could reshape East Asia's strategic landscape, Huang said it remains too early to draw conclusions, as the Japan-Philippines negotiations are still ongoing.

At this stage, he argued, Taiwan's priority should be to continue expressing its position through diplomatic démarches, official statements, and other formal channels while ensuring that its objections are fully documented for the record.

"If we fail to firmly assert our position now, could the outcome become even more disadvantageous to us once the negotiations conclude?" Huang said.

He noted that while Taiwan and Japan share many common interests, their interests are not identical. Taiwan must therefore continue pursuing closer cooperation while also actively defending its own maritime rights, Huang added.

Whether the issue ultimately leads to lasting changes in the Indo-Pacific security environment will depend on factors including China's ability to sustain routine enforcement operations and the responses of the United States and other regional actors, Huang said.

He stressed that Taiwan's coast guard capabilities remain significant and that the government should continue employing both law enforcement and diplomatic measures to safeguard Taiwan's maritime interests and regional stability.