China has begun a maritime law enforcement operation in waters east of Taiwan, inspecting passing vessels and asserting jurisdiction over an area it claims as part of its exclusive economic zone. The operation, which state media said had examined 198 ships and “rectified” three in June, was launched in response to a May agreement between Japan and the Philippines to open formal negotiations on their maritime boundaries. Simultaneously, a legal opinion published by the China Institute for Marine Affairs, a body under the Ministry of Natural Resources, declared that the planned talks “constitute an internationally wrongful act” because they were initiated without consultation with Beijing and disregard China’s territorial claims over Taiwan. The moves coincide with the entry into force of a new ethnic unity law that includes a clause permitting legal action against individuals and groups outside China’s borders for undermining ethnic unity or inciting separatism.

Viewed from Beijing, the coast guard patrols and the legal opinion are legitimate exercises of sovereignty. A foreign ministry spokesman described the ethnic law as a measure to strengthen the rule of law and protect the rights of all ethnic groups, and he dismissed criticism from the United States and the European Union as a “malicious smear” based on fabricated information. Chinese state media have framed the maritime operation as part of a “near-shore governance” strategy that extends administrative control beyond the Taiwan Strait to waters east of the island. The legal opinion further warned Japan and the Philippines not to involve “the Taiwan authorities” in the delimitation process, calling any such move a severe provocation against the One-China principle, and cautioned outside powers against assisting or recognising the talks.

The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia have all voiced objections. Washington described the Chinese patrols as “deeply destabilising” and rejected any assertion of authority to interfere with freedom of navigation. Canberra said it had raised concerns directly with Chinese officials, while London, Paris and Berlin issued a rare joint statement insisting that navigational rights and the safety of seafarers must be guaranteed. Taipei, which rejects Beijing’s claim of sovereignty, instructed Taiwanese merchant ships to ignore Chinese coast guard boarding demands and said its own coast guard would intervene if necessary. Japan and the Philippines have not suspended their boundary talks, and both have deepened military cooperation with the United States, including an expansion of American base access in the Philippines under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

A study by the Beijing-based South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI) documents how the United States is transforming the Philippines from a “strategic rear” into a “forward hub” for Indo-Pacific operations, with northern bases oriented toward the Taiwan Strait and southern ones toward the South China Sea. The same report notes, however, that many of the nine EDCA sites remain far from fully operational, owing to high investment requirements, political uncertainty in the Philippines and rising nationalism. Analysts in Taipei assess that Beijing is deliberately shifting toward non-military tools — coast guard deployments, legal opinions and domestic legislation — to assert its claims at a lower cost and with greater persistence than military exercises.

The dossier remains open. China’s coast guard operation is continuing, the ethnic unity law is now in effect, and the legal opinion has been formally transmitted. Japan and the Philippines have given no indication they will abandon their delimitation negotiations. No direct talks between Beijing and the two capitals on the boundary question have been announced. The risk of a confrontation at sea between Chinese and Taiwanese coast guard vessels persists, while diplomatic protests from Western capitals are expected to continue.