SpaceWar.com reports: “With a clear view of China’s skyscraper-studded coastline, Taiwanese coastguard captain Huang Heng-chun steers his patrol boat through choppy waters around a group of islands controlled by Taipei.

Huang and his crew are on alert for China Coast Guard ships, which have been entering sensitive waters around Kinmen with greater frequency as Beijing dials up pressure on Taiwan.

China claims all of Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.

Just two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the closest point in China and 200 kilometres from Taiwan’s main island, Kinmen has been on the frontline of friction between Beijing and Taipei for decades…

China’s coastguard began increasing patrols near Kinmen after two Chinese nationals died during a chase by Taiwan’s coastguard near the tiny archipelago in February 2024.

Since then ‘their presence has become much more frequent’, Huang, a veteran of Taiwan’s coastguard in Kinmen, told AFP.

Chinese coastguard ships enter Kinmen’s waters about four times a month, and as a result ‘our law enforcement operations have become much more tense’, Huang said…”