China held a ‘law enforcement operation’ in waters east of Taiwan following recent talks between Japan and the Philippines to draw a boundary there, state media reported on Saturday.
Tokyo and Manila said in may that they would start formal talks to delimit the ‘maritime boundary’ of an economic zone and continental shelf between them, angering Beijing.
China, which asserts Taiwan is part of its territory, called the talks ‘illegal’ and has claimed exclusive control over the waters concerned.
“On Saturday, Beijing’s transport ministry organised maritime police from the coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong to conduct a special maritime traffic law enforcement operation in waters east of Taiwan Island," state news agency Xinhua reported.
The report did not give details on the operation, including how long it lasted or whether it was still ongoing, and it did not say whether maritime police dispatched ships to the area.
“The operation was a necessary action taken against Japan's and the Philippines’ unilateral announcement they would start negotiations on delimiting a maritime boundary near Taiwan,” Xinhua added.
Taiwan said on Wednesday that it should be consulted on the Japan-Philippines talks.
Manila's and Tokyo’s shared grievances over Chinese maritime territorial claims have seen them draw increasingly close in recent years.
Japan and China are in territorial and economic disputes in the East China Sea, where coast guard ships from both sides routinely stage tense standoffs.
Beijing has meanwhile deployed navy and coast guard vessels in the South China Sea, in a bid to bar the Philippines from strategically important reefs and islands, leading to a string of confrontations.
