China’s use of typhoon disaster prevention as a pretext to exercise traffic control over vessels in the Taiwan Strait was unacceptable, the Maritime and Port Bureau said in a statement on Monday.
The bureau issued the statement after China’s Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration on Thursday last week unilaterally said that it would enforce traffic controls over northbound vessels in the Taiwan Strait due to Typhoon Dolphin.
The bureau said that following the Chinese announcement, it had immediately issued maritime safety notices via coastal radio and maritime safety centers to inform vessels operating near Taiwan that the Taiwan Strait is international waters.
Photo: AP
Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), China has no right to exercise any form of control or jurisdiction over waters around Taiwan, the bureau said, urging vessels in the area to disregard China’s maritime traffic control requests and independently seek safe waters to shelter from the storm.
Ahead of the issuance of the Chinese announcement, the bureau had broadcast disaster-prevention alerts through multiple channels, including news releases, coastal radio and the automatic identification system, to warn vessels operating in waters near Taiwan, it said.
It also activated a clearance measure for a 12 nautical mile (22.2km) coastal security zone on Thursday last week, urging vessels in the designated areas off northern and eastern Taiwan to leave the zone and seek shelter farther offshore, it said.
It coordinated with the Coast Guard Administration to carry out vessel-evacuation operations, it said, adding that all vessels were clearly informed that those remaining in the restricted zone could be prohibited from entering Taiwan’s commercial ports, as stipulated in the Commercial Port Act (商港法).
As a result, no maritime incidents were reported while Dolphin passed through waters near Taiwan, it said.
The Republic of China (Taiwan) has legally recognized sovereign rights to the area under the UNCLOS and has the authority to implement maritime traffic control measures for vessels, the bureau said.
The Taiwan Strait is international waters and, as stipulated in the UNCLOS and other international rules, the principle of freedom of navigation applies beyond territorial waters, it said.
China has no right to impose traffic controls on Taiwanese or foreign vessels in such waters, the bureau said.
The Coast Guard Administration and the Mainland Affairs Council issued similar statements condemning the Chinese announcement.
A US Department of State spokesperson on Monday told the Central News Agency that “the United States opposes any actions that interfere with the freedoms of navigation and overflight applicable in the Taiwan Strait.”
Late last month, the China Coast Guard said it had launched “routine law-enforcement patrols” in waters east of Taiwan.
The State Department at the time said it was concerned about China’s actions, adding that Taiwan has peacefully administered the waters for more than 70 years.
China’s claims of jurisdiction over the waters would only heighten tensions, it said, calling on Beijing to stop pressuring Taiwan.
Additional reporting by CNA
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