On June 6, the Ministry of Transport organized the Fujian Maritime Safety Administration, Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration, Donghai Navigation Safety Administration, and Donghai Rescue Bureau to carry out a special maritime law enforcement operation in the waters east of Taiwan Island, stating that it is a necessary action in response to Japan and the Philippines unilaterally initiating "maritime delimitation negotiations," which seriously violate China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
According to tracking information released by the WeChat public account "Marine Equipment and Official Vessel Information," since June 1, mainland maritime law enforcement fleets have been patrolling in the waters east of Taiwan, with the closest distance approximately 51 nautical miles from Taiwan's east coast, 40 nautical miles from Lanyu, 35 nautical miles from the Ryukyu Islands, and 56 nautical miles from Itbayat Island. Analysis indicates that the fleet's patrol range exactly covers the exclusive economic zone.
The Hong Kong Zhongping Net published an analysis today stating that the timing, route, and scope of this mainland cruise law enforcement operation convey three clear signals: first, a decisive countermeasure against Japan and the Philippines; second, a stern warning to external forces' "intervention hands"; third, a resolute defense of the One-China principle. The supporting elements behind these signals are firm confidence, strong determination, and powerful capability.
In August 2022, when US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, it stirred up huge waves in the Taiwan Strait. The PLA began regularly crossing the so-called "median line of the Taiwan Strait," marking a significant symbol of the mainland proactively shaping the strategic situation in the Taiwan Strait. Subsequent military exercises around the island and cruise law enforcement operations have seen increasing deployments of mainland military aircraft, ships, and coast guard vessels in the waters east of Taiwan. After this operation was launched, some observers noted that mainland law enforcement in the waters east of Taiwan may become normalized.
Drawing from past experiences of cross-strait games, each time the "adversary" provokes, the mainland advances once. Therefore, it is not ruled out that the mainland may normalize patrols east of Taiwan, which would be another major symbol of the mainland proactively shaping a favorable strategic situation after breaking the so-called "median line of the Taiwan Strait."
