Taiwan to seize intruding sand dredgers from mainland China to fight illegal mining and ‘grey zone warfare’

Name: Why Taiwan is a ‘life-or-death question’ for China: Cui Tiankai on US-China tension
Uploaded: 2023-12-18T11:38:08.000Z
Duration: 30 min 18 s
Description: Why Taiwan is a ‘life-or-death question’ for China: Cui Tiankai on US-China tension

Revision to law will allow island to confiscate ships and machinery that cross into Taiwanese waters for illegal excavation

The move aims to stop growing incursions by civilian flotillas from across the strait and counter intimidation by Beijing

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Over the past decade, dozens of dredgers from mainland China have reportedly crossed into Taiwanese waters to illegally extract sand from the seabed. Photo: Taiwan Coastguard Administration

Lawrence Chungin Taipei

Published: 7:38pm, 18 Dec 2023Updated: 8:00pm, 18 Dec 2023

Taiwan will seize sand dredgers from mainland China that cross into Taiwanese waters as a way to stop illegal gravel mining and growing incursions by civilian flotillas from across the strait.

The move also aims to counter a so-called grey zone tactic by Beijing that has been used to pressure and intimidate Taipei, observers said.

In a review of the Law on the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf, Taiwan’s legislature on Monday approved a revision to the statute allowing for the seizure of the dredgers.

Under the revision, “ships or other machinery or equipment illegally used for excavation of sand and gravel in [Taiwan’s] exclusive economic zone or on the continental shelf shall be confiscated regardless of who owns the facilities,” the legislature said in a statement on Monday.

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Why Taiwan is a ‘life-or-death question’ for China: Cui Tiankai on US-China tension

Over the past decade, dozens of mainland sand dredgers have reportedly crossed into the island’s waters to illegally extract sand from the Taiwanese seabed despite being repeatedly dispersed by Taiwan’s coastguard.