China is opening a new front in its pressure campaign against Taiwan, sending ships to its east to drive home a political point: Beijing claims not only the island itself but also the seas around it.

中国正在开辟施压台湾行动的新战线，向台湾以东海域派遣舰船，以此强调一个政治立场：北京不仅对该岛本身，也对其周边海域宣称拥有主权。

The China Coast Guard announced on Saturday that its ships would conduct “law-enforcement patrols” in the Western Pacific waters east of Taiwan, a self-ruled island of 23 million people that Beijing claims as its territory.

中国海警局周六宣布，其舰艇将在台湾以东的西太平洋水域进行“执法巡查”。台湾是一个拥有2300万人口的自治岛屿，北京宣称其为中国领土。

The Western Pacific is crowded with commercial traffic and would be a vital arena if Beijing ever tried to blockade or invade Taiwan. China’s coast guard ships are often hulking, well-armed vessels that complement the country’s naval forces. They have been vital to Beijing’s efforts to dominate the disputed South China Sea, sometimes by swarming waters, ramming vessels or blasting crews with powerful water cannons.

西太平洋商业航运密集。如果北京试图封锁或武力攻打台湾，这里将是一个至关重要的战场。中国海警船通常是体型庞大、装备精良的舰船，是对中国海军力量的补充。在北京试图控制有争议的南海的过程中，这些船只发挥了关键作用，有时通过在海域集结、撞击船只或用强力水炮喷射船员等方式施压。

During the patrols, the coast guard ships “will continue to strengthen law-enforcement patrols in waters under China’s jurisdiction and firmly safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” the China Coast Guard said on Saturday.

中国海警局周六表示，在巡查期间，海警舰艇“将持续加强在中国管辖海域执法巡查，坚决维护国家领土主权和海洋权益”。

By Sunday, the two Chinese ships, the Xiushan and the Chongming, were between 80 and 140 miles off Taiwan’s east coast, said Ou Yu-fei, an official for Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration.

台湾海巡署官员欧宇飞（音）表示，截至周日，两艘中国舰船“秀山”舰和“崇明”舰正位于距离台湾东海岸约128至225公里的海域。

Chinese coast guard ships have operated east of Taiwan before, including as part of military exercises. The difference now is that the patrols are intensive and coordinated, and accompanied by declarations of a political intent, said Ray Powell, a former U.S. Air Force officer who is the director of SeaLight, a group that monitors and is critical of Chinese maritime pressure activities against its neighbors.

中国海警船以前曾在台湾以东海域活动，包括作为军事演习一部分的活动。前美国空军军官、负责监控并批评中国对邻国海上施压活动的组织“海光”的主任雷·鲍威尔表示，如今的不同之处在于，这些巡查既密集又协调一致，并伴有明确政治意图的宣示。

“With these actions, they’re into the blue Pacific,” he said. “China just keeps squeezing Taiwan like a boa constrictor, trying to tighten its grip over lines of communication.”

“通过这些行动，他们正在进入蓝色太平洋，”他说。“中国就像蟒蛇一样不断挤压台湾，试图收紧对台湾交通线的控制。”

Beijing’s high-profile deployment of these ships east of Taiwan are a step forward in its efforts to pressure the island by challenging Taiwanese control of these seas and practicing steps that could be part of a blockade.

北京高调向台湾以东海域部署这些舰船是向该岛施压行动的进一步举措，旨在挑战台湾对这些海域的控制，并演练可能成为封锁行动一部分的步骤。

The latest patrols followed similar ones in June, when Chinese coast guard, maritime safety and scientific exploration ships engaged in operations in the same waters. The United States, Britain, France and Germany issued statements last month criticizing the Coast Guard operations off east Taiwan.

最近的巡航紧随6月份的类似行动，当时中国海警船、海事安全船和科学考察船在同一水域进行了作业。美国、英国、法国和德国上个月均发表声明，批评中国海警在台湾以东海域的行动。

“It’s another indication that China intends to continue to put the squeeze on Taiwan, warning that in the future it’s going to find itself increasingly isolated and cut off,” Mr. Powell said on Sunday.

鲍威尔周日表示：“这再次表明，中国打算继续对台湾施压，警告台湾未来将面临日益孤立和联系被切断的局面。”

Taiwan’s government responded to the latest Chinese patrols with deployments of its own, and rejected Beijing’s claims of sovereignty. The Taiwan Coast Guard sent at least two ships to track the Chinese vessels and said it would “take all necessary measures to forcefully expel Chinese vessels that engage in harassment in our national waters.”

台湾政府针对中国最近的巡查行动进行了相应部署，并拒绝了北京对主权的主张。台湾海巡署派出至少两艘舰艇跟踪中国船只，并表示将“采取一切必要手段，强势驱离骚扰的中国船舶”。

China “has no jurisdiction or related rights” over these waters, and “none of its government vessels have the authority to enforce laws there,” the Mainland Affairs Council, which oversees relations with Beijing, said on Saturday.

负责处理与北京关系的台湾陆委会周六表示，中国在这些海域“不存在任何主权及相关权利”，“中共所有公务舰艇在此也没有执法权力”。

The seas in question are outside of Taiwan’s territorial waters. They are within waters where Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan assert overlapping rights to economic activities such as mining and fishing.

相关海域位于台湾领海之外。它们属于日本、菲律宾和台湾主张对采矿和捕鱼等经济活动拥有重叠权利的海域。

The Chinese patrols east of Taiwan in June began after Japan and the Philippines announced that they were in formal negotiations over their competing claims to exclusive economic zones and continental shelves. Beijing condemned the talks, arguing that because it has sovereignty over Taiwan, it also has a legal stake in that dispute.

中国6月份在台湾以东的巡查是在日本和菲律宾宣布就两国对专属经济区和大陆架的竞争性主张进行正式谈判之后开始的。北京谴责了这些会谈，认为因为它对台湾拥有主权，所以它在该争端中也拥有合法权益。

China first sent out coast guard ships, which were then joined by maritime safety ships in what the country’s Ministry of Transport called a “maritime traffic law enforcement operation.”

中国首先派出了海警船，随后海事船也加入其中，中国交通运输部称之为“海上交通专项执法行动”。

Taiwanese officials have said that the Chinese coast guard ships radioed at least three commercial ships, demanding information about the ships’ crews, destinations and other details.

台湾官员表示，中国海警船通过无线电联络了至少三艘商船，要求提供有关船员、目的地和其他细节的信息。

Taiwan has told commercial ships passing through the area to ignore such demands from China. But a Chinese crew member on one ship complied, supplying information to a Chinese coast guard officer, said two Taiwanese officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. The compliance by the ship was first reported by Agence France-Presse, which said it was a Singapore-flagged cargo carrier.

台湾已告知途经该区域的商船无视中国的此类要求。但两名因讨论敏感信息而要求匿名的台湾官员表示，其中一艘船上的一名中国船员遵从了要求，向一名中国海警官员提供了信息。该船的配合行为首先由法新社报道，该社称这是一艘悬挂新加坡国旗的货船。

一艘台湾海警船正在金门附近巡逻，金门是位于中国海岸附近、由台湾控制的一组岛屿。台湾的海警船队规模要小得多。

Up to now, Chinese coast guard patrols around Taiwan have mostly been in the strait between the island and the mainland. Since 2024, China has regularly patrolled near Kinmen, a set of islands near the Chinese coast that is controlled by Taiwan.

到目前为止，中国海警在台湾周围的巡查主要集中在台湾和大陆之间的海峡。自2024年以来，中国开始定期在金门附近巡航，金门是靠近中国海岸、由台湾控制的一组岛屿。

China’s navy has also continued expanding patrols and exercises around Taiwan. In July, Chinese and Russian navies will hold a joint exercise off Qingdao, a city on China’s northeast coast, and forces from both sides would then “conduct a joint maritime patrol” in the Pacific Ocean, China’s Ministry of National Defense said on Sunday.

中国海军也继续扩大在台湾周边的巡逻和演习。中国国防部周日表示，今年7月，中俄两国海军将在中国东北沿海城市青岛附近海域举行联合演习，随后双方部队将在太平洋“组织海上联合巡航”。