China Coast Guard Incursions into Kinmen Waters for Second Consecutive Day — ROC Taiwan Deploys Four Patrol Vessels for Full-Spectrum Monitoring and Expulsion

Following the unauthorized entry of “dark ships” (vessels without active Automatic Identification System, AIS) by Mainland China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels on May 15, Taiwan’s Patrol Area Office 12 of the ROC Taiwan Coast Guard Administration (TCGA) detected further CCG activity in the Kinmen maritime zone at approximately 08:00 on May 16. Patrol assets were immediately deployed forward to the outer boundary of the Restricted Area.
At 08:45, four CCG vessels — 14605, 14604, 14608, and 14521 — repeated the same incursion formation as the previous day, sailing in two parallel columns from the eastern and western approaches to Kinmen, and converging into a single column formation within Taiwan’s southern Kinmen Restricted Area.
TCGA had pre-positioned four Patrol Boats, which immediately moved into parallel response positions to block and shadow the intruding vessels, issuing firm radio warnings in Mandarin and English. Under constant monitoring and tactical containment, the CCG vessels withdrew from the Restricted Area at 11:00.
The Kinmen–Matsu–Penghu (KMP) Branch of TCGA stated that this marks the 72nd gray-zone incursion by CCG forces into Kinmen waters to date. Taiwan’s maritime forces continue to maintain a high state of surveillance and rapid-response readiness 24/7.
TCGA reiterated its firm commitment to safeguarding national sovereignty and maritime security, ensuring all provocations are met with swift, lawful, and resolute action, and will continue to release enforcement footage to counter disinformation and reassure the public.