By Benjamin Cuaresma
Foreign Sources
MANILA — Chinese Coast Guard vessels have reportedly begun escorting Chinese government ships in waters where the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Japan and the Philippines overlap, a move analysts say signals Beijing’s growing effort to reinforce its maritime claims in a strategically sensitive area near Taiwan.
According to an analysis of Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel-tracking data, two Chinese Coast Guard ships accompanied the government survey vessel Xiang Yang Hong 22 for three consecutive days beginning June 16 in waters off Japan’s southernmost island of Yonaguni.
The escort mission came shortly after Japan and the Philippines agreed in May to begin formal negotiations on the delimitation of their maritime boundaries, a development widely viewed as strengthening bilateral cooperation in the Western Pacific.
The vessel movement has been interpreted by security analysts as Beijing’s response to the growing strategic partnership between Tokyo and Manila.
Researchers from geospatial intelligence firm ingeniSPACE and Doshisha University in Kyoto found that the Chinese vessels sailed repeatedly within the overlapping EEZ area, with the two Coast Guard ships positioned on either side of the government survey vessel throughout the operation.
Even after the survey ship departed on June 18, the Chinese Coast Guard vessels reportedly remained in the area.
Japanese authorities responded by deploying Coast Guard patrol ships and surveillance aircraft to monitor the Chinese vessels.
The analysis also noted that Chinese Coast Guard vessels escorted other government ships conducting maritime patrol operations in nearby waters from June 6 to June 10.
The waters involved lie east of Taiwan, a democratically governed island claimed by Beijing as part of its territory. China has repeatedly asserted that it reserves the option to use force to bring Taiwan under its control.
During a summit in Tokyo in late May, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed to begin negotiations to formally delimit the maritime boundaries and continental shelf shared by Japan and the Philippines in accordance with international law.
China strongly criticized the agreement, insisting that any maritime boundary negotiations involving waters east of Taiwan should include Beijing.
Since then, Chinese Coast Guard ships have continued operating in the disputed maritime area.
International law expert Jun Tsuruta of Meiji Gakuin University said Beijing’s activities represent a significant shift from merely asserting territorial claims to actively exercising authority through sustained operations at sea.
He noted that conducting marine surveys within Japan’s EEZ without Tokyo’s consent could violate international law and suggested that the Japan-Philippines maritime negotiations may have prompted China’s more assertive posture.
The latest developments add to mounting regional tensions as China continues to expand its maritime activities in both the East China Sea and the South China Sea.
Tokyo and Manila have increasingly strengthened defense and maritime cooperation in response to repeated confrontations involving Chinese vessels around the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands and disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea.
Security analysts say the continuing deployment of Chinese Coast Guard ships near overlapping EEZs underscores the growing strategic competition in the Western Pacific, where maritime security has become one of the region’s most pressing geopolitical concerns.
ia/xf
