Taiwan’s government has accused China of breaching international law by drilling for oil and gas inside Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and immediately demanded it halt the activity.
The statement from the office of Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, came after revelations first reported by the Guardian that several Chinese oil rigs and associated vessels had been detected inside Taiwan’s EEZ, near the disputed Pratas Islands, which are under Taiwanese control.
A report published by the Jamestown Foundation, a US-based thinktank, said the assets had been there for up to five years, and were all owned by the Chinese state-run China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).
Their presence had not been previously reported. The Guardian independently confirmed the continued presence of most of them last week, using commercial civilian maritime tracking platforms.
On Wednesday, Taiwan’s presidential office spokesperson, Karen Kuo, called for China to “clearly explain” its actions and “immediately cease illegal deployment and exploitation activities in the economic waters of countries in the region, including Taiwan”.
“This not only violates international legal norms such as the United Nations convention on the law of the sea (Unclos), but also seriously undermines the international order and poses uncertain risks to regional stability,” she said.
Kuo said Taiwan’s defence and security agencies were aware of the situation and were “conducting a comprehensive review of the patterns and risks of the related activity”.
Experts told the Guardian that the activity fitted into Beijing’s pattern of using both military and commercial activity to gain control over disputed territory, particularly in the South China Sea and around Taiwan, which Beijing is preparing to annex as a Chinese province.
That such activity had continued essentially in plain sight for five years, without a response from Taiwan, surprised analysts.
“Failure to protest today risks normalising sovereignty shaving and encourages further encroachment,” the Jamestown report warned.
But analysts also said Taiwan was very limited in what it could do about it. Taiwan’s political status means it is not party to the UN convention on the law of the sea or its arbitration mechanisms. Domestic law about which parts of the EEZ border are enforced by Taiwan is unclear and Taipei does not have the maritime strength to challenge such activity.
William Yang, the senior north-east Asia analyst with the International Crisis Group, said Taiwan first needed to clarify which agency was responsible and then establish a set of diplomatic and law enforcement responses, including increased support for more coastguard patrols.
“Without these initial steps, it will continue to struggle to effectively address these challenges,” Yang said.
A spokesperson for Taiwan’s ministry of defence, Col Chiao Fu-chun, told the Guardian the ministry was aware of the vessels operating near the Pratas Islands – which Taiwan calls the Dongsha Islands – and could “assist our coastguard to respond when needed”.
Kuo said Taiwan would “cooperate with relevant countries in the region” to seek joint responses. Last month Japan protested against similar activity by Chinese oil rigs inside its EEZ, and Vietnam and Korea have also made similar complaints in the past.
Yang said: “If Taiwan can make a strong connection between these Chinese grey zone activities, it could encourage other countries with more diplomatic leverage and resources to incorporate the challenges that Taiwan is facing into their potential collective regional responses.”
