Taipei says Beijing has no jurisdictional basis in waters east of Taiwan — and is using the Japan-Philippines EEZ talks as a pretext to manufacture one.
Taiwan's government delivered a unified condemnation on June 11 of China's recent maritime enforcement operation in waters east of Taiwan, with the Foreign Ministry, Executive Yuan, and Coast Guard Administration all rejecting Beijing's jurisdictional claims as legally groundless and warning that the action constitutes a deliberate challenge to international order.
Background: Japan-Philippines Talks Hand Beijing a Pretext
The dispute was triggered when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met in Tokyo and announced the launch of bilateral negotiations to delimit their overlapping Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf boundaries. The maritime areas under discussion overlap with zones Taiwan also claims. Beijing seized on the announcement to reassert that Taiwan is "an inseparable part of Chinese territory" and that the Japan-Philippines plans infringe on Chinese maritime interests — dispatching official vessels to operate in waters east of Taiwan under the guise of law enforcement.
Foreign Ministry: China Has No Right to Claim Jurisdiction
Speaking at a post-cabinet press conference, Michael Chau-Horng Lin(林昭宏), Director-General of the Foreign Ministry's Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, was unequivocal: the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China are mutually non-subordinate, and China therefore has no right to intervene in any matter touching Taiwan's sovereignty and jurisdiction — nor to exploit the Japan-Philippines boundary talks as a pretext to expand its jurisdictional claims in surrounding waters.
On the talks themselves, Lin said Taiwan has not requested to join the bilateral negotiations, but has made clear to both Tokyo and Manila that any future consultations must fully account for Taiwan's overlapping interests in the relevant maritime zones and that both parties should maintain communication with Taipei. Under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and applicable international jurisprudence, he said, the outcome of Japan-Philippines delimitation negotiations will not affect Taiwan's sovereign rights under international law and the law of the sea, nor will it affect the existing fisheries agreements Taiwan holds separately with Japan and the Philippines.
Lin called on the international community to take note, urging countries to pay close attention to what he described as China's unlawful conduct in undermining regional peace and stability and challenging the international order.
Executive Yuan: "Fake Enforcement, Real Power Grab"
Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) echoed the Foreign Ministry's position, stating that China's repeated harassment of vessels exercising freedom of navigation in waters surrounding Taiwan amounts to "fake enforcement, real power grab." She said the government will continue to employ joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance measures to track Chinese official vessel movements, and will take concrete action to deter China from harassing vessels in transit.
Coast Guard: "Fake Enforcement, Real Harassment"
Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration deployed vessels throughout the operation to monitor Chinese ships and broadcast warnings, ultimately forcing Chinese vessels away from restricted zones east of Taiwan. Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) confirmed that during the standoff, both sides broadcast to commercial vessels transiting the area, with some vessels responding.
Hsieh condemned China's conduct in direct terms: the operation was "fake enforcement, real harassment," in violation of international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Coast Guard's response, he said, exposed and dismantled China's attempt to manufacture the appearance of jurisdictional authority in the area. China has been escalating the use of gray-zone tactics and cognitive warfare to fabricate the impression that it holds jurisdiction over the relevant waters, Hsieh warned, adding that the Coast Guard Administration stands fully prepared to continue employing all necessary measures to defend national sovereignty and maritime security. （Related： Taiwan, Ukraine, and the US Are Building a Drone Chain Beijing Can't Touch ｜ Latest ）
