The China Coast Guard conducts patrols in waters east of Taiwan island on September 29, 2026.

The China Coast Guard (CCG) conducted patrols in waters east of Taiwan island on Tuesday, with footage obtained by the Global Times showing that the island's Central Mountain Range was clearly visible during the operation.

CCG spokesperson Jiang Lue said a task group led by CCGS Zhujiajian conducted routine law-enforcement patrols in the waters east of China's Taiwan Island in accordance with the law.

"The approach by CCG vessels is clearly directed at recent collusion between 'Taiwan independence' forces and the Philippines," Chen Xiangmiao, director of the World Navy Research Center at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"It draws a line for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), warning separatist forces that the CCG can take control measures if they cross red lines," Chen said.

He said the CCG could move its patrols closer to Taiwan island or intensify law enforcement involving suspicious vessels. Compared with conventional military measures, routine coast guard patrols around the island can be conducted more frequently and take more flexible forms, he added.

His comments came amid repeated maritime exchanges between Taiwan authorities and the Philippines. On September 22, Taiwan island's media reported that a decommissioned 500-ton patrol vessel was donated by Taiwan's "Coast Guard Administration" (CGA) and had been delivered to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), a move described by USNI News as "the most significant maritime security development between Taipei and Manila in recent years."

Such collusion has also included visits and exchanges between the DPP authorities and Manila. 

The two sides of the Taiwan Straits share common interests on questions of territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea and waters east of Taiwan, Chen said, accusing the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces of helping external actors undermine the broader interests of the Chinese nation.

"The 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces' actions of aligning with Japan and the Philippines on South China Sea issues will not only be rejected by compatriots on both sides of the Straits and Chinese people worldwide, but will also prompt strong countermeasures from the mainland," Chen said.

The DPP authorities' vessel donation has also drawn criticism from the mainland's Ministry of National Defense. At a recent regular press conference, ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Jiang Bin accused the DPP authorities of using vessel assistance to expand so-called "official contacts" with the Philippines in pursuit of "Taiwan independence." 

Jiang said the DPP authorities had disregarded the fatal shooting of a Taiwan fisherman in 2013 by Philippine coast guard personnel and were sacrificing national dignity and interests. He called on the Philippines to abide by the one-China principle, refrain from official exchanges and military contact with China's Taiwan region, and stop sending wrong signals to separatist forces.

In Tuesday's statement, the CCG said that the CCGS Zhujiajian task group has been strengthening control over the relevant waters to ensure orderly navigation and activities, safeguarding the legitimate and lawful rights and interests, as well as the lives and property of fishermen on both sides of the Straits. The CCG will continue to strengthen law-enforcement patrols in the waters under China's jurisdiction and resolutely safeguard China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

The CCG has also continued routine patrols near Kinmen. Zhu Anqing, spokesperson for its Donghai Branch, stated that since the beginning of September, the Fujian Coast Guard has dispatched task groups to conduct routine patrols in accordance with the law in the waters near Kinmen, strengthening control and management over relevant waters.

This is an effective measure to protect the legitimate rights and interests, as well as the lives and property of fishermen on both sides of the Straits, and to ensure orderly navigation and activity in the waters between Xiamen and Kinmen, Zhu said.