The Chinese coast guard announced Monday that it had deployed four fleets for “inspections” in the waters around Taiwan, shortly after Beijing launched military maneuvers near the island. The Taiwanese coast guard said Monday that it had detected groups of boats from their Chinese counterparts.
Fleets 2901, 1305, 1303 and 2102 engaged in “law enforcement inspections in the waters surrounding the island of Taiwan (…) in accordance with the law based on the principle of ‘One China’ , according to which Taiwan is part of Chinese territory, said Liu Dejun, spokesperson for the coast guard, in a statement.
For their part, the Taiwanese coast guard said Monday that they had detected groups of boats from their Chinese counterparts around Taiwan. “Several boats” crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait – referring to the line that bisects this 180 kilometer wide strait between the island and mainland China – and remained “in our northern waters, southwest and east in the form of convoys,” the Taiwanese Coast Guard said in a statement.
ats/hkr
