China Threatens Taiwan Over Pratas Water Cannon — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Chen Binhua, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said Taiwan must "bear all consequences" after its Coast Guard fired a water cannon at a Chinese fishing boat near the Pratas Islands this month, calling the behavior "maliciously stirring up cross-strait confrontation."
- Taiwan's Coast Guard fired the water cannon because the Chinese boat failed to respond to warnings to leave restricted waters near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas; the boat later suffered engine failure and was towed by a nearby Chinese vessel.
- Chen Binhua asserted China has "indisputable sovereignty" over the Pratas and surrounding waters and said mainland vessels operating there are "entirely legal and justified."
- A Taiwan official with direct knowledge of the incident told Reuters the Coast Guard carried out "normal law enforcement" in a "very careful and proportionate way."
- The Pratas Islands lie roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, more than 400 km from Taiwan, and security experts view them as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their isolation.
- Taiwan's Coast Guard—not its military—handles day-to-day security for Pratas; Chinese coast guard ships have increased patrols in the area and Beijing recognizes no Taiwanese sovereignty claims, including over the islands.
Why it matters: Taiwan governs the Pratas—a national park with an airstrip and no civilian population—while Beijing rejects any Taiwanese claim there, so each routine Coast Guard incident becomes a cross-strait flashpoint. The islands sit over 400 km from Taiwan and are guarded by the Coast Guard rather than the military, making them a natural pressure point Beijing can test without triggering a military-to-military response.
Ask SkimNews
