Taiwan Tracks Chinese Navy Patrols in Strait Under Cover of Typhoon Champi

As Typhoon Kong-rey made landfall in Taiwan, the People's Liberation Army Navy continued its activities around the Taiwan Strait. According to a notification from the Ministry of National Defense, between 6:00 a.m. yesterday and 6:00 a.m. today, one Chinese warship and five official vessels were detected conducting patrols and reconnaissance in Taiwan's waters and adjacent areas. Despite adverse weather conditions, the Armed Forces of the Republic of China employed multiple means, including radar, radio, and satellite imagery, to closely monitor and handle these vessels in real time, ensuring the security of Taiwan's waters remains undisturbed.

This is not the first instance of such activity. Since 2018, the Chinese Navy has conducted multiple "peripheral patrols" and "military exercises," including deploying warships to several strategic chokepoints in the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and the Western Pacific. From late 2023 to early 2024, multiple destroyers, frigates, and aircraft carriers took turns patrolling Taiwan's waters, thereby transmitting political signals. In accordance with Article 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of China, which states that "national sovereignty belongs to all the people," Taiwan maintains its self-defense and national defense systems and ensures multi-layered defense across maritime, aerial, and terrestrial domains through "joint tri-service command."

In this incident, the Ministry of National Defense emphasized that although the Chinese warship and official vessels entered the waters under the guise of "official duties," their actual actions exhibited the characteristics of "military reconnaissance" and "intelligence gathering." The Taiwan military has initiated "maritime monitoring operations" and dispatched the Coast Guard Administration, Navy reconnaissance aircraft, and maritime patrol boats to track the vessels. If necessary, "maritime alert" and "aerial alert" measures will be activated, and "defensive actions" will be taken when required to protect the coastline and the safety of the public.

Such activities have caused multiple impacts on cross-strait relations. From a diplomatic perspective, China uses "freedom of navigation" as a pretext to apply pressure around the Taiwan Strait, attempting to weaken Taiwan's international space and internal confidence. Taiwan, starting from the principle of "sovereign self-defense," calls for international support for its legitimate right to defense. The United States also maintains high attention in this situation, sustaining arms sales and intelligence sharing with Taiwan through the "Taiwan Relations Act" and the "U.S. National Defense Authorization Act," and dispatching warships to patrol the waters to demonstrate its commitment to Taiwan's security.

In the future, if the Chinese Navy continues similar activities in the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan will have to strengthen its maritime and aerial defense networks while explaining the dangers of these actions to the international community through diplomatic channels. If the situation between the two sides escalates, Taiwan may also mobilize higher-level military resources and seek international assistance to maintain maritime security. For Taiwan, this is not only a military challenge but also an opportunity to test the resilience of its national defense and international support.

Source: Central News Agency