Chinese patrols to Taiwan's east are 'destabilizing'

Chinese coast guard patrols to the east of Taiwan are "highly destabilising" and an extension of Beijing's legal, political and information warfare against Taipei, the chair of a US congressional committee said on Tuesday.



China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up activity off the island's east coast since June with regular coast guard patrols.



China recognises no claims of sovereignty by Taiwan, including over the seas around the island.



Officials in Taiwan, which rejects Beijing's territorial claims, say they believe China is practising for a possible maritime blockade using overlapping military, paramilitary and civilian assets.



Speaking at a forum in Taipei, Randall Schriver, chair of the US Congress' US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said one of the most troubling recent developments he had seen was the idea of a persistent coast guard patrol east of Taiwan.



While the idea of an ostensibly civilian vessel performing law enforcement duties could seem benign, in fact it is an extension of China's sovereignty claim, he added.



China's foreign ministry reiterated comments from last week that those waters were Chinese and it was "therefore legitimate, lawful and beyond reproach for China to carry out activities" there.