TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese scholars warn that the maritime patrol and law enforcement operation conducted by China over the weekend included the “Taiwan Shoal” and may represent Beijing’s efforts to turn the Taiwan Strait into a “quasi-inland sea.”

On Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 17-18), China’s Fujian Maritime Safety Administration and the East China Sea Rescue Bureau conducted the “2024 Taiwan Strait maritime patrol and law enforcement operation,” announced Beijing’s state-run People’s Daily on Monday (Aug. 19). Taiwanese scholars assessed that in this operation, Beijing’s claim to include the “Taiwan Shoal” (台灣淺灘) as part of its patrol area could indirectly expand its jurisdiction to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, aiming to eliminate the jurisdictional gap in the strait, according to CNA.

After the Kinmen speedboat incident in February, China announced regular “law enforcement patrols” in the waters near Kinmen. Although the incident concluded at the end of July, regular patrols by China have not ceased. Taking advantage of the end of the fishing moratorium and the start of the fishing season, China then claimed to conduct “law enforcement patrols” in the Taiwan Strait.

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), director of the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told CNA that while the operation was originally intended for maritime transportation safety, Beijing included the “Taiwan Shoal,” incorporating the waters near Penghu into its patrol range. This could indirectly expand China’s jurisdiction to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, turning the Taiwan Strait into a “quasi-internal sea.”

According to maritime law, the Taiwan Strait cannot be considered an internal sea, said Su. By using this “salami-slicing” tactic, Su said Beijing aims to assert jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait, indirectly eroding Taiwan’s sovereignty, and warned that the frequency and scope of such actions could increase.

Chieh Chung (揭仲), an associate research fellow at the National Policy Foundation in Taipei, told CNA that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) actions reflect the view that “we are the local government” and therefore have no authority to enact laws governing the traffic in the Taiwan Strait. “On one hand, the CCP aims to eliminate gaps in its jurisdiction; on the other hand, it is denying our regulations through its actions,” said Chieh.

Chieh pointed out that since June 2022, China has been orchestrating a legal campaign in the Taiwan Strait with the intent to gain control over most of the waterway. This includes lifting restrictions and prohibitions on waters during the February Kinmen incident.

Subsequently, the Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88號) incident eliminated special treatment previously afforded to Taiwanese citizens, signaling that Taiwanese fishermen should be treated the same as their Chinese counterparts. This gradual approach is intended to establish a de facto exercise of jurisdiction in the Taiwan Strait, and even to the east of the median line, said Chieh.

China’s operation over the weekend involved two China Maritime Safety Administration ships, the Haixun 06 and Haixun 0802, and one rescue vessel, the Donghaijiu 115. The patrols lasted 30 hours and 30 minutes, covering 764 km (413 NM).

The main tasks included patrolling navigation routes in the central Taiwan Strait, implementing maritime traffic control, and inspecting passing vessels.

The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) on Monday (Aug. 19) reported that the three ships briefly crossed the median line by 5.9 km at 12:25 p.m. on Sunday but immediately sailed back toward Chinese waters. The ships did not enter Taiwan’s restricted waters, and their movements were monitored by Taiwan’s armed forces, according to the CGA.