TAIPEI ¨C Chinese Coast Guard patrols to the east of Taiwan are a ¡°provocative act¡± and the island¡¯s military will closely coordinate with its Coast Guard in responding, Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington ?Koo said on Monday.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, was ?angered after ?Japan and the Philippines said last month they would begin formal talks ?on delimiting their maritime boundaries, viewing that as involving waters off Taiwan. Delimitation is the process of legally establishing the outer limits of a state.
Late on Saturday, Chinese state media said ships ?had been sent to carry out a ¡°special maritime traffic law-enforcement operation¡± in the waters east of Taiwan in ?response to the Japanese and Philippine announcement.
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