Taiwan says China deployed record 244 ships in July

Taiwan's coast guard said China deployed a record 244 coast guard, research and other government ships around Taiwan's main island in July, as Taipei warned of growing pressure from Beijing.

The figure was an average of nearly eight ships a day. It compared with 55 ships in June, 30 in May and 58 in July last year, according to official data shared with AFP.

Taiwan's coast guard said 152 vessels were detected in the first 21 days of August. About 60% of the vessels were coast guard ships, with research vessels and other government boats making up the rest. The figures do not include Chinese warships, which China's military deploys around Taiwan on a near-daily basis.

A senior Taiwan coast guard official, speaking anonymously because they were not authorised to talk to the media, said the situation was becoming increasingly severe because the number of Chinese government vessels around Taiwan had increased, with a marked rise in July.

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it. China also asserts jurisdiction over waters around Taiwan.

Taiwanese officials and analysts describe China's use of coast guard and research ships as a grey-zone tactic, meaning pressure that falls short of war. Analysts cited in the account said the increased activity may help China map the region for submarine and anti-submarine warfare.

Ryan D. Martinson, an expert on China's maritime strategy at the US Naval War College, said Chinese research ships are owned and operated by civilian research institutes but share collected data with the military. He said such information would be useful for Chinese naval forces in a conflict.

Jason Wang of satellite and ship-tracking analysis firm ingeniSPACE said China's Xiang Yang Hong 03 research vessel was observed this month operating within Taiwan and Japan's exclusive economic zones over deep sea trenches and telecoms cables. Wang said it was escorted by a Chinese coast guard ship and a fishing boat that is part of China's maritime militia.