Taiwan’s coast guard said a Chinese coast guard ship entered restricted waters near the Pratas Islands, which Taiwan administers, on Saturday; the ships came within one nautical mile of each other, and Taipei accused Beijing of harassment.
The Taiwanese agency said one of its ships confronted the Chinese vessel and ordered it to leave. Taiwan called the encounter the 13th Chinese coast guard intrusion around Pratas this year, involving 16 vessels. Beijing, which claims Taiwan and says it has authority over waters it patrols, was not reported to have given a specific response to this encounter.
Separately, China’s coast guard said Saturday that a group of its vessels was conducting a routine patrol to enforce laws east of Taiwan. Taiwan said it sent its own ships to watch those patrols. Taiwan rejected China’s claims that it has authority over the surrounding waters.
The Pratas Islands, also called Dongsha, are in the South China Sea southwest of Taiwan’s main island. The incident adds to a pattern of sea tensions around Taiwan. China and Taiwan disagree over who has authority in the waters, and coast guard activity has become more frequent.