Taiwan keeps watch on Chinese ships off Kinmen Island coast | Exclusive

The Taiwan Army is monitoring all Chinese activities along its northern shores amid an increased threat perception from China.

The Taiwan Army is keeping a close watch along its shores from the northernmost tip of Kinmen Island, from which mainland China is barely 1,800 km away. While Chinese merchant vessels can be seen anchored off the coast of the island, sources said that they are actually being manned by Chinese Navy personnel.

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India Today’s Gaurav C Sawant, who’s reporting from ground zero, said that the ships were not flying the Chinese Navy flag. The Taiwan Army has set up watch posts and bunkers along the coast of the island from where it is monitoring all Chinese activity.

China and Taiwan have been embroiled in a bitter tussle for decades since the island was known as Formosa. The present tensions between China and Taiwan began on October 1, 2021, when China flew over 100 fighter jets into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone as it celebrated the 72nd anniversary People’s Republic of China (PRC).

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Tensions escalated when Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan despite China’s objections. China says Taiwan is the most sensitive and important issue in its ties with the United States, and that it has a right to ensure its security and defend its territorial integrity.

Taiwan's government says that as the People's Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan, it has no right to claim it or decide its future, which can only be set by the island's 23 million people.