China says it is 'safeguarding order' around Taiwan-controlled South China Sea atoll

Beijing: China's government said on Wednesday that its coast guard was "safeguarding order" around a tiny and strategically located Taiwan-controlled atoll at the top end of the South China Sea where Taipei fears Beijing is trying to enforce jurisdiction.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, said last week that Taiwan must "bear the consequences" of its coast guard using a water cannon against a Chinese fishing boat near the Pratas Islands.

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Taiwan has reported two incidents since Sunday of Chinese coast guard vessels approaching the Pratas, accusing Beijing of provocative behaviour.

Speaking at a regular news briefing, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office said Beijing has "indisputable sovereignty" over the South China Sea islands, including the Pratas and their adjacent waters.

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"Mainland coast guard vessels conducting law enforcement patrols in the relevant waters are fulfilling their duties in accordance with the law, safeguarding normal navigation and operational order," spokesperson Zhang Han told reporters.

The Chinese ships are "effectively protecting the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and the safety of lives and property", she added.

The "obstinate insistence" by Taiwan's ruling party on its separatist stance is the root cause of the peril of war across the strait, Zhang said.

Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's territorial claims, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide their future.

China recognises no claims of sovereignty by Taiwan and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

The Pratas have no permanent civilian population and lie roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong. Security experts see them as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance - more than 400 km (250 miles) - from Taiwan.

Chinese 'law enforcement'

China's military already operates around Taiwan on an almost daily basis. Taipei has become increasingly alarmed by Beijing's use of its coast guard to carry out "law enforcement" patrols to try to assert jurisdiction.

Addressing a forum in Taipei late Tuesday, Taiwan's top China-policy maker said Beijing is attempting to "domesticate" the Taiwan issue to "create an illusion of having de facto jurisdiction over Taiwan's surrounding waters and offshore islands".

With President Xi Jinping expected to be confirmed for a fourth term in office next year, China's mission to "achieve national unification" becomes even more pressing, said Chiu Chui-cheng, head of the Mainland Affairs Council.

"We assess that Beijing's Taiwan policy will shift toward a more aggressive, provocative strategy of 'exercising jurisdiction before achieving unification'," he added.