On Oct. 25 and 26, seven Chinese dredging vessels trespassed into Taiwan’s territorial waters around Matsu’s Nangan Island (南竿) to illegally mine sand. This is by no means an isolated incident. From January to September, the coast guard expelled no fewer than 3,000 Chinese dredging vessels from Taiwanese waters.
For the past three years, Chinese vessels have repeatedly intruded into the shallow coastal waters off Matsu, Penghu and Kinmen to extract sand from the sea bed. The sand is being used for a variety of projects, including island-building in the South China Sea, construction of a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport and a land reclamation project at Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport.
Illegal sand dredging has serious consequences. It alters the topography of the sea bed, which can lead to the subsidence and collapse of the seafloor. Dredging also seriously damages the delicate ecological environment of the sea bed, devastating the habitat of bottom-dwelling organisms and other marine life.
Foreign ships intruding into Taiwanese territorial waters are also violating the nation’s sovereignty. It could be that Beijing is simply turning a blind eye to the questionable activities of Chinese companies, as it has often done in the past.
On the other hand, it might be a deliberate ploy as part of China’s wider “gray zone” tactics to stealthily advance its strategic goals below the threshold of kinetic warfare. By normalizing such incursions, Beijing can gradually chip away at Taiwan’s sovereignty.
In the skies above the Taiwan Strait, Chinese air force pilots are constantly probing the nation’s sovereign airspace.
On the sea’s surface, Beijing uses its massive fishing boat fleet to deplete Taiwan’s fish stocks, harass Taiwanese fishing boats, overwhelm the coast guard and test the nation’s ability to defend its sea borders.
Dredging ships are scooping up and towing away Taiwan’s sovereign land to build infrastructure projects that further China’s economic development and construct militarized island fortresses that might be used as static aircraft carriers in an invasion of this nation.
One would have thought that dredging would be relatively easy to police. After all, the navy and the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) operate a sophisticated network of powerful radars and underwater sonar stations that are constantly monitoring the activities of Chinese vessels in the area.
However, the captains of dredging vessels know that the CGA is restricted to operating within 6km from Taiwan’s coast and play a cat-and-mouse game, encroaching into the 6km zone to hoover up sand, then quickly moving into the safety of deeper waters when a coast guard vessel appears on the horizon.
Another problem is that sand dredging is a lucrative business, but the punishment for intercepted vessels is too lenient. Dredging companies can sell between NT$4 million to NT$5 million (US$138,533 to US$173,166) of sand per day of operation, yet they face a maximum fine of about NT$200,000 per case if caught.
The Legislative Yuan should facilitate approval of the Executive Yuan’s proposal to increase the penalties for illegal dredging to a maximum of seven years in prison or a fine of up to NT$80 million.
The government should also upgrade navy and CGA equipment and increase the number of offshore patrol vessels, so that Taiwan has the ability to rapidly dispatch vessels to drive out Chinese dredging ships and ensure that they do not return.
Bolstering Taiwan’s coastal patrols would also have the added benefit of improving the nation’s capacity to intercept smuggling operations and clamp down on the illegal narcotics trade.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with