In maritime patrols, Taiwan confronts China

Taipei has vowed not to comply with Chinese government orders for inspections of ships around the self-governing island. The Taiwanese Maritime & Port Bureau has filed a complaint with Chinese officials and called for shipping companies to ignore inspection orders in the Taiwan Strait and advised shippers to notify the Taiwanese coast guard if they receive such demands. Beijing announced a three-day series of patrols in the region one day after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met in California with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Washington lawmakers. The maritime authority filed a complaint with Chinese officials and called for shipping companies to ignore inspection orders in the Taiwan Strait and advised shippers to notify the Taiwanese coast guard if they receive such demands. Beijing announced a three-day series of patrols in the region one day after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Washington lawmakers.

China has vowed to take “strong and resolute measures” in response to the “egregiously wrong” meeting. Beijing has warned that US meddling in Chinese-Taiwanese affairs emboldens separatists and undermines China’s sovereignty. US Representative Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, reacted to the Chinese patrols by saying intimidation is “what they do.” He added that any effort by Beijing to block the Taiwan Strait would be unacceptable and unsustainable.