Taipei, July 5 (IANS) Taiwan has criticised the China Coast Guard (CCG) for patrolling east of the island, terming the action an unlawful expansion of authority in contravention of international law and posing a threat to regional stability, local media reported on Sunday.

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said that China has no sovereignty, jurisdiction, or law enforcement authority in waters east of Taiwan, adding that Beijing's so-called "law enforcement patrols" amount to unlawful expansion of authority breaching international law and pose a threat to regional stability, the Taipei Times reported.

In a statement on Saturday, the MAC said: "Repeating an illegal act does not make it lawful, nor will such actions gain international recognition."

The MAC's response came after China announced that it had launched a new coast guard patrol east of Taiwan. In the statement, the China Coast Guard stated that the fleet would hold "law enforcement patrols" in the area, adding it would strengthen such patrols in what it termed China’s jurisdictional waters.

The MAC said that Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA), along with other government agencies, would take all necessary measures to protect the nation’s sovereignty and ensure the security of its surrounding waters in response to what it termed China’s increasing destabilising actions.

It further said that Taiwan will continue to work with democratic partners in the world to uphold freedom of navigation and the security of regional sea lanes, while firmly opposing any attempts to change the international order through force or coercion, the Taipei Times reported.

On Saturday, the CGA said that it was monitoring two Chinese ships and had prepositioned its two ships to sail alongside and shadow them.

"Taiwan possesses sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Exclusive Economic Zone east of Taiwan, whereas China has absolutely no sovereign rights over any waters surrounding Taiwan", it said, adding that China's attempts to harass Taiwan through maritime navigation "cannot alter this indisputable fact."

The CGA announced that it would continue to take all necessary measures to forcefully expel Chinese vessels "harassing our waters, steadfastly defend national sovereignty and ensure the security of our maritime domains."

The statement came as China has increased the frequency and scale of its military exercises around Taiwan in recent years. China maintains that Taiwan is a part of its territory and needs to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Despite China's efforts, Taiwan, backed by strong public support, continues to assert its sovereignty and responds to China's incursions.

On June 19, the CGA said that Taiwan's Coast Guard warned off a Chinese oceanographic research vessel, the Xiang Yang Hong 22, from its restricted waters.

The vessel entered Taiwan's restricted waters off the coast of Su'ao in Yilan County on June 18 at 11:35 pm (local time), according to the statement released by the CGA. The Coast Guard sent the 600-tonne-class Lanyu patrol vessel and the 100-tonne-class patrol boat PP-10077 to shadow the Chinese ship and issue radio warnings ordering it to depart, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

The crew of the Lanyu radioed Xiang Yang Hong 22 and said China has no sovereignty over waters off Taiwan's east coast and told the vessel to leave immediately, the CNA said. The two Taiwanese vessels then flanked the Chinese research ship and conducted manoeuvres designed to generate waves and disrupt its operations, according to the statement. According to the agency, Xiang Yang Hong 22 left Taiwan's restricted waters at 4.20 a.m. (local time).

--IANS

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