A fishing boat that Taiwanese officials say belongs to China's maritime militia was tracked off Taiwan's Pacific coast this summer, the first known sighting of such a vessel in those waters, according to a surveillance report first described by Reuters on Thursday.
What the patrol found
The report comes from Apex Aviation, a Taiwanese company mostly known for pilot training and charter flights. It says one of its reconnaissance planes picked up a group of three Chinese vessels more than 30 nautical miles off Hualien County, on Taiwan's east coast, on a day in mid-August. The company asked that the exact date be kept private, citing the risk of counter-surveillance against its flights.
The report identifies one of the ships as the Minfudingyu 07902, a fishing boat that also serves as a militia vessel. It was operating with China Coast Guard cutter 2502 and the research ship Xiang Yang Hong 03. Apex built its findings from radar, infrared images and ship-tracking data, and its defense and security director, Honor Hung, said the three vessels were spread across about 10 nautical miles. He cautioned that a single flight can't show what the ships were doing or whether they were working together, according to Taiwan Defence.
What Taiwan says
Two senior Taiwanese officials told Reuters the three ships were near Taiwan in mid-August. One said the fishing boat was part of a militia fleet Taiwan had been tracking and was working alongside Chinese coast guard "maritime harassment drills." "The purpose of militia boats is to conduct substantive harassment," that official said. The other said the vessels were in an area Chinese ships don't usually use and had been flagged for closer monitoring.
In a statement to Reuters, Taiwan's defense ministry accused China of using law enforcement and scientific research as cover for harassment, in an effort to widen its reach in peacetime and create the appearance of control over the waters. The ministry said the military is tracking the activity together with the coast guard. China's Taiwan Affairs Office and defense ministry did not respond to Reuters.
Why the east coast matters
China has stepped up activity off Taiwan's east coast since June, including regular coast guard patrols. Taiwanese officials believe Beijing is rehearsing a possible sea blockade that would mix military, paramilitary and civilian ships. Taipei sees its Pacific-side waters as a key route for supplies from allies if a blockade or conflict ever happened.
China's maritime militia is made up of fishing boats whose crews get training and support to operate in disputed waters, often next to coast guard ships. It's a more familiar sight in the South China Sea. Apex says it runs its patrols on its own, not for the government, though Reuters noted the flights fit Taipei's push to bring private companies into its "whole-of-society" resilience effort.