03:09
US President Joe Biden says US military will defend Taiwan if attacked
US President Joe Biden says US military will defend Taiwan if attacked
The Haixun 06 is a response to naval activities of other states in the Taiwan Strait, said Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang military science and technology think tank in Beijing.
The US Navy regularly conducts “freedom of navigation operations” around the world to challenge what Washington sees as excessive enforcement of maritime claims, including Beijing’s restrictions on peaceful passage of the strait.
“There have always been other countries’ naval forces cruising through the Taiwan Strait recently. Deploying patrol vessels makes it less likely for conflict to occur,” Zhou said.
However, the deployment of Chinese military vessels has caused much discontent among neighbours with whom Beijing has territorial disputes.
Last year, the Chinese coastguard shot water cannons at Philippine vessels in contested waters near the Spratly Islands – claimed as the Nansha by Beijing – drawing strong protests from Manila. Beijing had passed a law earlier in 2021, authorising its coastguard to fire at foreign vessels and destroy structures built in contested waters.‘China’s the trespasser’: Philippines won’t budge in South China Sea stand-off
Japan also lodged a protest in June after Chinese coastguard ships sailed near disputed East China Sea islands called the Senkakus by Tokyo and claimed by Beijing as the Diaoyus, after years of no Chinese presence detected there.The Maritime Safety Administration (MSA), unlike China’s other sea forces – namely the navy, the coastguard and the maritime militia – is less militarised and not a part of the Chinese armed forces.
The negative press surrounding the coastguard lately left the civilian, less controversial MSA as a fronting agency that could foster cooperation in maritime law enforcement, said Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
“It has been much less involved in some of those more contentious incidents or flare-ups in the South China Sea or elsewhere, which means that it’s being designated as an agency to help to foster regional cooperation, in the name of [for instance] fostering navigational safety,” he said. “I think that is a very plausible role for the MSA.”
01:22
Philippines reports incident of close ‘manoeuvring’ by China coastguard ship near Scarborough Shoal
Philippines reports incident of close ‘manoeuvring’ by China coastguard ship near Scarborough Shoal
By deploying a bigger and more capable patrol ship such as the Haixun 06, which has an unprecedented full-load displacement of 6,600 tonnes (7,275 tons), the MSA was trying to play a bigger role and be more prominent, as the Chinese coastguard had been thus far, he noted.
“In a way, having these larger vessels helps to assert the agency’s relevance. And, of course, it does give a reminder that in times of [major incidents], the MSA will have the capacity to respond and it doesn’t have to depend on [the coastguard].”
The MSA usually operated vessels of 900 tonnes to nearly 3,000 tonnes, Koh said.
The Haixun 06 is able to operate for 60 days at a stretch without resupply and can sail in all waters except for those near the poles, according to Xinhua. It can also communicate with other law enforcement vehicles, including drones, helicopters and ships.
Zhou said the new ship would be used for surveillance and monitoring of “suspicious activities”, and, if needed, to chase off ships that traverse the Taiwan Strait.
00:32
US destroyer passes through Taiwan Strait, China urges ‘no interference by external forces’
US destroyer passes through Taiwan Strait, China urges ‘no interference by external forces’
However, Koh said other countries need not worry about the MSA’s activities because Beijing’s approach to the Taiwan Strait had been relatively safe and peaceful, despite the rhetoric and documented instances of close encounters.
He said Beijing had not done very much to undermine high seas freedom in the strait, but had found itself in a position to respond with stronger rhetoric given the political context of recent years.The Haixun 06 was launched in February 2021 in Wuhan, in the central Chinese province of Hubei.
