Five Chinese coast guard ships entered Monday "prohibited or restricted waters" around the Kinmen, islands a few miles from Fujian province but under Taiwan's control.
This is what Kuan Bi-ling, head of the Taipei Ocean Affairs Council, told the media today, adding that the Chinese units left the area shortly after the Taiwan coast guard ordered them to leave.
Beijing began regular patrols around the Kinmen after two Chinese citizens died on February 14 trying to escape Taiwanese patrol boats after their boat entered prohibited waters.
Amid growing tension, six Chinese coast guard officers boarded a Taipei tourist vessel carrying 11 crew members and 23 passengers last week to check its route, certificates and crew licenses, departing approximately half an hour later.
The risk, according to observers, is that the now normalized Chinese presence around Taiwan, between the People's Liberation Army and the coast guard, could create a dangerous sense of complacency in Taipei and Washington, while at the same time giving China the operational practice crucial for a possible attack against the island.
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