On February 20th, at 9:03 a.m. local time, a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel crossed the prohibited and restricted lines 1.5 nautical miles (2.8km) west of Kinmen Island.
The crossing comes one day after 10 CCG vessels sailed around the lines and CCG personnel boarded a Taiwanese tourist vessel.
While the vessel will likely not stay within Taiwan’s territorial waters, it indicates that China wants to show Taiwan that they no longer recognize the lines. Furthermore, the country likely will treat them in a similar manner as the Median Line that divides the Taiwan Strait.
China will likely continue to send CCG vessels across the boundary as long as it judges that it will not significantly increase tensions.
