Chinese ship leaves after tense standoff near Taiwan-controlled islands
China claims to democratically govern Taiwan as its own territory, a view the government in Taipei denies.
China has pressured Taiwan by increasing its military presence around the island, and Taipei has been on high alert for further Chinese action after President Xi Jinping discussed Taiwan with US President Donald Trump in Beijing this month.
Located approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attacks because they are more than 400 km (250 miles) from the island of Taiwan.
The Taiwan Coast Guard said on Saturday that it detected a Chinese Coast Guard ship heading for Pratas and immediately dispatched its own ship, which issued a warning and that the two sides “engaged in an intense verbal confrontation over sovereignty via radio.”
The Taiwan Coast Guard said the Chinese ship was on a routine mission and issued a statement that China has sovereignty and jurisdiction over Pratas.
“Please do not destroy peace. You must return and strive for democracy. This is the right way to serve your country,” the Taiwanese ship said, according to video provided by the coast guard. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment.
Taiwan’s coast guard said the ship began leaving Pratas late Sunday afternoon.
A Taiwanese coast guard official told Reuters that China’s statement about having jurisdiction and sovereignty was unusual, as was the length of time it remained in waters so close to Pratas.
The Chinese research vessel “Tongji” drifted in waters near the island for the second time this month, the coast guard said in a statement on Friday night.
Pratas atoll, which is also Taiwan’s national park, is only lightly defended by Taiwan, a responsibility that falls to the coast guard rather than the military.
In January, Taiwan said a Chinese reconnaissance plane briefly flew over Pratas.
On Saturday, Joseph Wu, Secretary-General of Taiwan’s National Security Council, detailed 100 Chinese ships he said were now in the first island chain, referring to an area on the X account that stretches from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines.
