La «nueva normalidad» de China en torno a Taiwán: menos aviones y más coerción marítima
Translated Title: China's "New Normal" Regarding Taiwan: Fewer Planes and More
Author: Javier Castro Bugarín, Agencia EFE, S.A.
Beijing deployed its Coast Guard to the area on June 1, and between June 6 and 10, the Ministry of Transport conducted a “special maritime traffic control operation” in these waters, an initiative that involved inspecting 198 vessels and rectifying “infractions” on three of them.
In a statement sent to EFE, the Chinese Foreign Ministry defended these actions as "legitimate" and a "necessary response" to the "manipulations" by Tokyo and Manila, while, in a separate statement, the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry labeled them "illegal."
However, the Chinese presence east of Taiwan had already begun in early May and remained "constant" even after the conclusion of Beijing's aforementioned "special operation," according to Jason Wang, director of operations at ingeniSPACE, a geospatial intelligence firm based in Silicon Valley.
An analysis conducted by this company using satellite data and Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) data reveals that, between June 1 and 8, GCC vessels sailed across a wide area east of Taiwan, from the vicinity of its eastern coast well into the exclusive economic zone claimed by Taipei.