Taiwan has asked local ships not to cooperate with the Chinese maritime police when they try to inspect Taiwanese commercial ships, according to the Central News Agency, citing Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau.
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China’s maritime safety administration in China’s eastern province of Fujian said on Wednesday that China had begun patrols in the central and northern Taiwan Strait amid reports of a meeting between US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwan’s Chief of Staff Tsai Ing-wen.
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The Bureau released a statement Wednesday evening asking Taiwanese ship crews to reject any attempts to board, recommending contacting the Coast Guard Administration for assistance.
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Taiwan’s Defense Ministry Qiu Guozheng said earlier Thursday that the China People’s Liberation Army Navy’s aircraft carrier Shandong was about 200 nautical miles (370.4 kilometers) east of Taiwan’s southernmost point, and that no carrier-based aircraft had taken off yet.
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According to him, it is possible that the presence of the NAOC aircraft carrier group in the area is most likely part of the exercise, while due to the sensitive time when Taiwan’s chief of staff Tsai Ing-wen returns to the island after transiting to the United States en route from Guatemala and Belize, the Taiwanese military is carefully studying and evaluating the plans of the Chinese aircraft carrier.
