China’s new unified coast guard agency has gone into operation, state media reported yesterday amid maritime disputes with its neighbors, and experts said more ships will be armed as a result.
The China Coast Guard integrates the functions of marine surveillance, the existing coast guard, which came under the police, fisheries law enforcement and customs’ anti-smuggling maritime police.
The divisions “that were not allowed to be equipped with weapons can be armed now,” Yang Mian (楊勉), a professor of international relations at the Communication University of China, was quoted as saying by the Global Times newspaper.
“The new agency will also make our law enforcement more powerful,” he said.
The agency will “have reasonable and legal law enforcement equipment” and “detect and rapidly handle in accordance with the law acts that harm China’s maritime rights and interests,” Zhang Junshe (張軍社), a military researcher, wrote in a commentary in the PLA Daily.
Tensions have been growing in Beijing’s island disputes with Tokyo and other neighbors.
Zhang said the new agency would deal with conflicts in the disputed waters according to Chinese law.
That “will ... show the international community that China has undisputable jurisdiction over the waters,” he said.
The China Coast Guard will have 11 squadrons and more than 16,000 personnel, according to various media reports.
Gary Li, an analyst with research firm IHS Maritime, said the fleet would give China “more stamina” for coast guard patrols in the disputed waters.
The move “will have significant impact on China’s territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas around the Senkaku/Diaoyu (釣魚) and the Spratly Islands (南沙群島) respectively,” he wrote in a research note.
Arthur Ding (丁樹範), a professor of international relations at National Chengchi University in Taipei, said China’s patrols in the South and East China Seas were likely to become “more frequent and more forceful.”
“As it is named the coast guard, [its ships] are likely to be authorised to carry light weapons so that they can enforce the law,” he said.
“Clampdowns on so-called illegal acts are likely to increase, with frictions with neighboring countries expected to rise,” he said.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
RSS