Taiwan’s Coast Guard and military practiced joint operations in the face of what Taipei called a growing gray-zone threat from China.
Democratically governed Taiwan has repeatedly complained about activities such as undersea cable cutting and sand dredging by China around the island that are designed to pressure it without direct confrontation. China claims the self-governed island of Taiwan as its territory and has threatened to annex it by force. It is often Taiwan’s coast guard that scrambles first to respond to the threats.
The drills, overseen by President Lai Ching-te, in the southern port city of Kaohsiung simulated the seizing of a ferry by international terrorists. Taiwan’s Coast Guard worked with an interior ministry rescue helicopter and Taiwan Army medevac helicopter to board and regain control of the boat and evacuate casualties.
A Taiwan Navy anti-submarine helicopter flew over the scene as the drill ended, along with the medevac and rescue helicopters, the first time they have flown together in such a scenario, the coast guard said.
“Taiwan has been facing constant grey intrusion from China, but our coast guard colleagues have always been on the front line to enforce the law and protect the lives and safety of the people of Taiwan,” Lai told the audience for the drills.
“The government will continue to consolidate the strength of all departments and strengthen the resilience of the entire society to defend national security and safeguard Taiwan’s democracy and freedom,” Lai said.
Taiwan’s Coast Guard is routinely sent out to shadow Chinese ships during Beijing’s military exercises around the island.
The Coast Guard, like the Navy, is amid an expansion and modernization program.
Its new Anping-class corvettes, which began being commissioned in 2020, are based on the Navy’s Tuo Chiang-class warships. They are state-of-the-art, highly maneuverable stealth vessels meant to take out larger warships while operating close to Taiwan’s shores.
The Anping-class ships, one of which took part in the drill, have space for launchers for the Taiwan-made Hsiung Feng anti-ship and sea-to-land missiles, as well as equipment for rescue operations.
The drills came in early June, two days after Taiwan accused China of raising tensions with a military patrol involving warplanes and warships near the island. Taipei labeled the drills “highly provocative,” an unusual public rebuke in what are typically routine accounts of Chinese military activity.
Taiwan has complained of repeated Chinese military drills and patrols nearby. China has held three major rounds of war games since Lai took office in May 2024. The defense ministry said it detected 21 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighters, operating with warships to carry out “so-called joint combat readiness patrols” and “harass the airspace and seas around us.”
“The Ministry of National Defence stresses that these acts are highly provocative, fail to pay proper attention to the maritime rights of other countries, bring anxiety and threat to the region, and blatantly undermine the status quo in the region,” it said.
Taiwan regularly reports such Chinese patrols but does not generally attach such commentary to its statements.
Lai says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future, and that the government is determined to ramp up defense spending and strengthen its military.
