Taiwan Coast Guard warns China of exploiting Typhoon Champi to assert Strait control

The Coast Guard Administration issued a statement after observing five China Coast Guard vessels tailing a group of eight Japan Coast Guard ships transiting the Taiwan Strait’s median line during Typhoon Champi. The Japanese flotilla, which included three large patrol vessels equipped with helicopter decks and five additional patrol craft, headed toward waters southwest of Cimei Island, outside Taiwan’s contiguous zone.

China deployed a mix of 3,000-tonne and 5,000-tonne patrol vessels, including the Baita and Daishan classes. The CGA invoked the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to confirm the Japanese right of passage in international waters and accused Beijing of exploiting the natural disaster to assert unlawful jurisdiction, part of a broader effort to convert the strait into a Chinese inland sea. It warned that such actions threaten maritime freedom, navigational safety, and the rules-based order, and affirmed its readiness to act to protect navigation and Taiwan’s security. Concurrently, the Central Weather Administration warned that Typhoon Champi would bring heavy rain and strong winds to Taiwan, issuing sea and land warnings across several counties.