Overview
- Taiwan reported that on June 6 a Chinese coast guard vessel and an oceanographic survey ship conducted the first observed coordinated operation near the Taiwan‑administered Pratas (Dongsha) Islands, which Taipei called a deliberate provocation.
- In response Taipei dispatched coast guard ships including the patrol frigate CG‑129 Kaohsiung and multiple patrol boats to monitor the area and to back up units stationed on the Pratas.
- Taiwan said its coast guard issued warnings and then 'expelled' four Chinese government vessels that had entered restricted waters off Taiwan’s south after the testy radio exchanges were published.
- Chinese state media and officials described the deployment as a 'special maritime traffic law‑enforcement operation' linked to Japan‑Philippines boundary talks and reported a flotilla that includes large patrol and survey ships such as the Haixun series.
- Taiwan’s defence minister called the patrols a provocative form of cognitive warfare that risks fishermen and navigation and ordered sustained intelligence sharing and closer coordination between the military and the coast guard.