AFP China Deploys Record Number of Ships Around Taiwan as Pressure Grows
China deployed a record number of coast guard, scientific research and other ships in Taiwan's waters last month, the island's coast guard told AFP, as Beijing dials up pressure on Taipei.
Taiwan's coast guard warned of an increasingly severe situation, as analysts say the increased activity is part of China's bid to map the region for submarine warfare.
China's Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan, but Beijing claims the island democracy is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it. China also asserts jurisdiction over Taiwan's surrounding waters.
The number of Chinese ships detected around Taiwan's main island soared to a record 244 in July -- an average of nearly eight every day, official data shared with AFP show.
That compares with 55 ships detected in June and 30 in May, and 58 in July last year.
In the first 21 days of this month, 152 vessels were detected.
About 60 percent are coast guard ships, with research vessels and other government boats making up the rest.
The figures do not include Chinese warships, which China's military deploys around Taiwan on a near-daily basis.
China has long dispatched coast guard and research ships around the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in the hotly contested South China Sea, where Beijing and several littoral countries have competing claims.