# Taiwan accuses Chinese patrol ships of using radio calls to question merchant vessels off its east coast

Beijing describes the patrols as routine law enforcement in its own waters. Rubio has criticized Chinese "coercive behavior" across three seas, and Japan and South Korea have signed an Arctic pact.

- Published: 2026-11-01T05:14:26.029Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-11-01/taiwan-accuses-chinese-patrol-ships-of-using-radio-calls-to
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: geopolitics
- Sources: [The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/taiwan-says-china-harassing-shipping-with-east-coast-patrol/article71652011.ece), [ZeroHedge](https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/rubio-calls-out-chinas-coercive-behavior-west-sea-japan-south-korea-sign-arctic-pact), [OilPrice](https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/US-Intelligence-China-Could-Put-Laser-Weapons-in-Space-by-2030.html)

Taiwan's coast guard said Chinese government ships patrolling off the island's east coast are using radio calls to harass passing merchant vessels, according to a [Reuters report carried by The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/taiwan-says-china-harassing-shipping-with-east-coast-patrol/article71652011.ece). The coast guard called the calls "a clear expansion of power" that violates international law. [Taiwan News](https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/6379532) reported that Taiwanese patrol vessels intercepted calls in which Chinese ships questioned Liberia-flagged and Benin-flagged vessels more than 30 nautical miles east of Taiwan. Taiwanese ships then broadcast that China had no jurisdiction in the area and advised merchant crews to ignore the calls.

Beijing describes the same activity as policing. In late September, Xinhua reported that a China Coast Guard flotilla was conducting ["regular law-enforcement patrols"](https://www.news.cn/tw/20260929/52dcbe2222254e74ad89e33d659b3d0b/c.html) in waters east of "China's Taiwan island." It said the flotilla had strengthened control of the area since September to protect navigation and the rights of Chinese people, "including Taiwan compatriots." A coast guard spokesman said patrols in waters under Chinese jurisdiction would continue. China does not accept Taiwan's claim that these are international waters outside Beijing's authority, and Taiwan does not accept Beijing's claim of jurisdiction.

Washington and its allies are responding. Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized China's [efforts to assert control in the South China Sea](https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/rubio-calls-out-chinas-coercive-behavior-west-sea-japan-south-korea-sign-arctic-pact) and its "coercive behavior" in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea, as Japan and South Korea signed an Arctic cooperation pact. A new report from the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) says China could field [directed-energy weapons in orbit by the end of the decade](https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/US-Intelligence-China-Could-Put-Laser-Weapons-in-Space-by-2030.html). The report is a US intelligence assessment and has not been independently confirmed.

## What this means

Radio questioning of foreign merchant ships is a low-cost way for Beijing to establish a practice of jurisdiction over a shipping lane east of Taiwan without using force. Each call that a ship answers can later be cited as acceptance of Chinese authority. The exposure falls on shipowners, charterers and insurers using the route, and on Japan, whose trade passes nearby. Taiwan's counter-broadcasts aim to stop compliance from becoming normal. The common view looks for a blockade or an invasion as the signal of risk. The more likely path is gradual administrative control that raises compliance and insurance costs before any shot is fired. The likelier outcome over months is that these patrols become permanent and that shipping and insurance firms start issuing guidance on how to respond to Chinese calls. Japan's rearmament and its pacts with South Korea are the visible counterweight. The read is wrong if Beijing withdraws the east-coast patrols after US-China contacts at APEC, which would show they are a bargaining tool and not a fixed policy.

## What to watch

- Whether shipping associations or flag registries tell their vessels how to answer Chinese radio calls, which would show commercial acceptance or rejection of Beijing's claim.
- Any boarding or inspection attempt by Chinese ships east of Taiwan, which would be a step beyond radio calls.
- How the patrols are handled in any US-China contact at the Shenzhen APEC summit, because a pause would show they are negotiable.