China Coast Guard Expands 'Law-Enforcement' Patrols Off Taiwan's Pacific East Coast

China Coast Guard confirmed on September 3, 2026 that a task group led by the cutter Putuoshan was continuing 'law-enforcement patrols' in waters east of Taiwan, replacing an earlier patrol group; Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration responded on September 4 by confirming it had deployed vessels to monitor the Chinese ships, calling the activity a 'routine law-enforcement patrol' claim it disputes. Since first appearing in these waters in June 2026 — the first such reported presence in the area since at least January 2025 — China has averaged about two coast guard cutters per month off Taiwan's Pacific coast. By early September the patrols covered roughly 27,100 square nautical miles (more than twice Taiwan's land area), staying about 30 nautical miles offshore, outside Taiwan-claimed waters. Analysts say the shift extends Beijing's gray-zone pressure beyond the Taiwan Strait to the island's eastern approaches — a maritime corridor strategically important for US and allied resupply and for submarine operations — building on a similar first-of-its-kind patrol reported in the same waters in June.