Taiwan says China Coast Guard patrols to its east are 'provocative act'

Chinese Coast Guard patrols to the east of Taiwan are a "provocative act" and the military will closely coordinate with the island's Coast Guard in responding, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Monday.



China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, was angered after Japan and the Philippines said last month they would begin formal talks on delimiting their maritime boundaries, viewing that as involving waters off Taiwan. Delimitation is the process of legally establishing the outer limits of a state.



Late on Saturday, Chinese state media said ships had been sent to carry out a "special maritime traffic law-enforcement operation" in the waters east of Taiwan in response to the Japanese and Philippine announcement.



Taiwan's Coast Guard sent its own ships to warn away the Chinese ones and said on Sunday they had been "expelled" from restricted waters.



"First this is a provocative act, and second it is cognitive warfare," Koo said in parliament.



"They are attempting to first claim the eastern waters as their domain, like casting a large spider's web over the area," he added. "This is a serious affront to our national sovereignty."