KINMEN: Taipei’s coast guard ramped up guards over the weekend around its neighboring islands that have seen increased presence of Chinese warships, the organization said Sunday ( May 19 ), the day of Lai Ching- te’s opening as Taiwan’s new leader.
Taiwan is regarded as a part of China’s territory, and it has a near-daily military existence, with regular appearances of fighter jets, drones, and maritime ships.
Additionally, it has recently deployed Chinese coast guard ships to Kinmen, an area that Taipei manages and is located only 5 kilometers from Xiamen, a Chinese city.
Taipei’s Coast Guard Administration said on Sunday they have sent out personnel to “patrol all days of the day and day” around Taiwan’s three big outlying territories: Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu.
” In order to ensure the security of the sea area and border safety during the inauguration ceremony, the Ocean Affairs Council’s Coast Guard Administration’s Kinmen- Matsu- Penghu Division when suddenly implemented a strong patrol operation… to carefully monitor dubious targets”, it said in a statement.
The Kinmen- Matsu- Penghu Division further stated that it would ensure that the nationwide security work would never deteriorate during the significant celebrations.
Kinmen has been the webpage of ramped up hostilities after Lai— who China has branded a “dangerous secessionist” — was elected in Taiwan’s January votes.