A series of incidents involving Chinese nationals illegally entering Taiwan took place before Tuesday, the first anniversary of President William Lai (賴清德) assuming office. Those intrusions demonstrated the threat that China’s growing “gray zone” harassment poses to the security of Taiwan.
On Friday last week, two Chinese nationals — a father and a son — on a rubber dinghy were arrested upon landing illegally at a beach in Taoyuan’s Dayuan District (大園). Although the father said they had fled to Taiwan in search of “freedom,” the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said it would not rule out the intrusion as a “gray zone” tactic to test Taiwan’s response system.
On Sunday, a Chinese influencer uploaded two videos online, saying that he sailed solo from China’s Fujian Province to Taiwan on Friday last week to plant a Chinese flag on a beach in Dayuan District, and then returned to China.
On Tuesday, aside from tens of Chinese military aircraft intruding into Taiwan’s airspace and Chinese fishing boats gathering off the coast of Taiwan’s outlying islands, the CGA also detained two Chinese men on a raft attempting to sneak ashore Kinmen Island.
Ahead of those incidents, the National Security Bureau had warned that China might use military and civilian harassment as part of its “cognitive warfare” to raise alarm in Taiwan around the anniversary of Lai’s inauguration.
To realize its military and geopolitical ambition, China has long utilized civilian ships, including fishing boats, research vessels and ocean ferries, to bolster its naval power. Military experts have also said that Chinese authorities pay and direct civilian vessels to anchor and sail in hotly contested areas, such as the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, to enforce Beijing’s territorial claim and to eat away at the sovereignty of its neighbors.
China’s “gray zone” harassment is escalating in tandem with its increasing military activities around Taiwan. Such moves include deploying “no registration, no license, no permit” civilian ships to intrude into Taiwan’s waters to cut undersea cables, harass Taiwanese fishing boats, sneak Chinese nationals into Taiwan and smuggle objects into the nation during Chinese military exercises.
Since January, the CGA has documented five smuggling cases involving 38 people, mostly from China, illegally entering Taiwan. More worrisome, their landing spots are all so-called “red beaches,” the most likely entry points for a Chinese amphibious invasion.
Given that the number of infrared thermal imaging cameras along Taiwan’s coast remains insufficient and garrisons on outlying islands have been downsized due to changes in military deployment because of the nation’s low birthrate, there is an urgent need to boost coastal monitoring equipment and patrol personnel along the nation’s coastlines. The government should also work with industries to adopt advanced technology and equipment, such as upgraded infrared thermal imaging cameras, drones and other electronic devices, to strengthen border surveillance and deterrence.
Under the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) and the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), people who enter Taiwan without authorization may be sentenced to up to five years in prison or fined up to NT$500,000. However, offenders have mostly received jail terms of less than eight months or were only fined, then released and returned home.
For example, Chinese men hiding in an international freighter who illegally entered Taiwan and traveled around for two months were only given a 30-day detention that could be converted into a fine. Such light punishment would not prevent repeated intrusions. Harsher penalties for illegal entry should be legislated and implemented to safeguard Taiwan’s security.
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