Taipei: Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said on Wednesday that it dispatched a vessel early that morning to expel two Chinese coast guard ships that had intruded into Taiwan-controlled waters off Dongsha Island in the South China Sea.

According to Focus Taiwan, the CGA Dongsha-Nansha Branch reported that Chinese coast guard vessel 3105 was detected entering Taiwan’s jurisdictional waters around Dongsha Island, approximately 25 nautical miles south of Dongsha Island, at 12:50 a.m. on Wednesday. In response, the CGA dispatched its vessel Hsun Hu No. 8, which was on patrol duty.

As Hsun Hu No. 8 approached vessel 3105 at 1:17 a.m., another Chinese coast guard ship, 3103, was detected 22 nautical miles southwest of Dongsha Island. This vessel was also monitored and issued warnings to leave the area, as per the CGA’s statement.

The two Chinese vessels departed the waters at around 11:35 a.m., with Hsun Hu No. 8 closely monitoring their movements throughout the encounter, the CGA confirmed.

The CGA highlighted that neither of the Chinese vessels activated their automatic identification systems for ship tracking, indicating an attempt to obscure their trails. The administration suggested that the vessels might have been testing Taiwan’s maritime deployment and attempting to strain the CGA’s law enforcement resources during the ongoing annual Han Kuang military drills.

The CGA noted the frequent intrusion of Chinese coast guard ships into waters near Dongsha and Kinmen in recent years, which have also provoked neighboring countries in the South China Sea and Indo-Pacific region. Such actions undermine regional safety and stability while disrupting international cooperation and trust-building mechanisms, the administration stressed.

In response, the CGA pledged to continue dispatching large vessels to guard the Dongsha waters, ensuring the protection of Taiwan’s sovereignty and marine rights. Moreover, the CGA called on like-minded countries to unite in defending freedom and democracy to help maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the broader Indo-Pacific region.