New War Creeps Closer to Asia, Strategic Pacific Routes Under Threat

The number of Chinese government ships operating around Taiwan surged dramatically in June 2026, sparking concerns in Taipei that Beijing is rehearsing a scenario to cut the island’s strategic supply routes to its allies in the Pacific. Taiwan’s Coast Guard reported a sharp increase in detections, with 55 vessels, including coastguard and research ships, recorded around the island in June. This figure represents an 83% rise from the 30 ships detected in May and a 120% increase compared to the 25 ships seen in the same period last year. “If the situation escalates into a blockade, or what is tantamount to a quasi-war, we have plans to cooperate with the navy to jointly protect Taiwan’s vital sea lanes,” a senior Taiwanese Coast Guard official said. The official noted that the tally does not include Chinese vessel activity around Taiwan-controlled islands near the Chinese coast. Taipei views this trend as evidence of the Chinese coastguard’s increasingly dominant role in ramping up pressure on Taiwan. According to the Taiwanese government, Beijing is now more frequently using coastguard vessels to reinforce its territorial claims through a strategy it calls “lawfare,” aiming to create a legal basis for Chinese activities around the island. A senior Taiwanese Coast Guard official revealed that some of the Chinese coastguard ships are actually modified former naval destroyers that were repainted and transferred to coastguard service. These vessels are larger, have greater endurance, and possess far stronger military capabilities than Taiwan’s coastguard fleet. The official added that Chinese coastguard ships now often operate in pairs outside Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone in the Pacific Ocean. “This puts tremendous pressure on the capacity of Taiwan’s coastguard vessels,” the official said. Another senior Taiwanese official described Beijing’s activity as a form of “expansion” aimed at altering the status quo in the region. The official said Chinese coastguard ships have begun broadcasting requests to commercial vessels for information about their port entry and exit activities, although no commercial ship has yet altered its route due to the pressure. In response, Taiwan has been transmitting radio messages to merchant ships instructing them to maintain their normal routes and ignore instructions from Chinese authorities. “They know they currently have no jurisdiction, so they are trying to create something out of nothing,” the official said. Neither China’s Ministry of National Defence nor its Taiwan Affairs Office has yet commented on the developments.