"China's Coast Guard Law Allowing Use of Weapons to Become New Threat to Taiwan"

[Asia Economy Reporter Sung Kiho] Taiwan is becoming tense as China has begun enforcing the Coast Guard Law that allows the use of weapons by its maritime police within its territorial waters.

According to the media on the 13th, Su Zhiyun, a researcher at the National Defense Security Research Institute, a think tank under Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, attended a forum on China's Coast Guard Law the previous day and expressed concerns that China's actions could become a new threat factor to Taiwan.

He stated, "The issue with China's coast guard assets could be more serious than that of military aircraft," and evaluated, "Since coast guard vessels are considered civilian in nature, they can operate more flexibly and may employ 'gray zone' tactics that use militias or civilians rather than regular troops to provoke."

Since last month, China has been enforcing the Coast Guard Law, which allows the coast guard to use weapons under certain conditions against foreign vessels within waters claimed by China.

Researcher Su pointed out, "While coast guards of various countries may use weapons during law enforcement, the problem with China's Coast Guard Law lies in the scope of permitted use of force," adding, "There is also a provision allowing the use of weapons without warning in urgent situations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.