Taiwan says US training coast guard amid China patrols

Taiwan said Friday that the United States is training its coast guard in maritime patrol and law enforcement skills as Chinese activity around the island increases.

Taiwan's coast guard said the US Coast Guard training runs from August 10 to 21 and focuses on small-craft operations, team coordination and maritime patrols. It said the aim is to improve Taiwan's maritime law enforcement capabilities in complex maritime environments.

Taiwan and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding in 2021 to increase cooperation between their coast guards, but joint training exercises are rarely publicised.

The de facto US embassy in Taiwan last month published an undated photo on Facebook showing a US Coast Guard ship sailing beside a Taiwanese coast guard vessel.

Chinese ships began patrolling for the first time in June in an area of the Western Pacific near Taiwan's east coast. Taipei called that activity provocative and described it as expansionism in disguise.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and says waters around the island fall under its jurisdiction. Taipei rejects those claims.