China has launched a “special operation” in Taiwanʼs eastern waters. What does this mean

On the evening of June 6, China launched a "special operation" to control maritime shipping in the eastern waters of Taiwan.

This was reported by the Chinese state media Xinhua.

China says the purpose of the operation is to “exercise the country’s jurisdiction in the field of maritime administrative law enforcement” and to strengthen patrols and traffic control in these waters.

The reason was the announcement by Japan and the Philippines to start negotiations on the delimitation of maritime zones east of the island of Taiwan. The PRC believes that this violates its sovereignty.

What do the Japan-Philippines talks mean?

Japan and the Philippines do not share a common border. But as coastal countries, they have the right to establish an exclusive economic zone that extends 200 nautical miles (370 km) from their coast.

The countries have overlapping zones, and they have decided to start negotiations to demarcate them. These negotiations, among other things, affect the territory east of Taiwan, which China considers its own.

How is Taiwan responding?

On the morning of June 7, the Taiwan Coast Guard said it had deployed ships to respond to Chinaʼs operation, and that the Chinese ships had left the port of Xiamen and were heading for waters southwest of Taiwan, although they remained outside its restricted zone. Maritime navigation in the area remained normal.

• The operation comes amid long-standing fears that China will launch a full-scale war against Taiwan. Beijing has increasingly promised to “reunify” the island with mainland China by 2022. The United States supports Taiwan with weapons but has not explicitly stated whether it would intervene if China attacked.
• In mid-May, Axios, citing sources, wrote: The US fears that such an invasion will occur in the next 5 years.

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