Taiwan reports rise in Chinese maritime activity near island

Taiwan detected a sharp increase in Chinese government ships entering waters around Taiwan and its outer islands in June, a Taiwanese coast guard official said. The official said the activity showed a significant rise in what Taiwan describes as Chinese grey-zone harassment.

The official said 263 Chinese ships were detected in June, including coast guard, rescue and research vessels. The figure excludes warships. Taiwan detected 200 such ships in May and 171 in June 2025.

China sends military aircraft, warships and coast guard vessels around Taiwan almost daily to assert its sovereignty claim over the island. Taipei rejects that claim.

The Taiwanese official said the increase covered both the number and types of Chinese government vessels involved. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to share the information with media.

China launched what it called law-enforcement patrols in waters east of Taiwan last month. Taipei has described those patrols as provocative and as expansionism in disguise. The source said that, until June, China Coast Guard activity in the Western Pacific had mostly been limited to participation in military drills around Taiwan.

During the operation, Chinese coast guard vessels radioed cargo ships passing Taiwan for information about their crews and destinations for the first time, the source said. A senior Taiwanese government official said China's aim was not only to disrupt shipping but to prevent Taiwan from receiving supplies by stopping commercial ships from entering its ports. The official said China was trying to put into practice quarantine-like measures as part of what he called an anaconda strategy against Taiwan.

Taiwan will hold live drills to practise responses to a possible quarantine or blockade, the coast guard official said, without giving details. The official said China's newer coast guard ships are military-grade, double-hulled vessels transferred from the Chinese navy, making them stronger than Taiwan's vessels. He said Chinese coast guard ships also operate in pairs, creating a heavy monitoring burden for Taiwan's coast guard.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called on his party on Sunday to oppose China's red terror and protect Taiwan's democratic and free way of life.