Taiwan's Maritime and Port Bureau Condemns China's Typhoon Traffic-Control Order as Illegal

Taiwan's Maritime and Port Bureau formally condemned China's use of Typhoon Dolphin as a pretext to impose traffic controls on international shipping in the Taiwan Strait, saying in a statement on August 12, 2026 that China's Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration had no jurisdiction to unilaterally restrict vessel movement in what Taiwan says are international waters under UNCLOS. The bureau said it had independently issued its own maritime safety alerts and coordinated vessel-evacuation operations ahead of the typhoon without incident, undercutting Beijing's stated safety rationale. The statement followed the US State Department's August 11 rebuke of the Chinese traffic-control order, and Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration and Mainland Affairs Council both issued supporting statements reasserting freedom-of-navigation principles for the strait.