Taiwan ramps up island patrols on eve of inauguration

Taipei's coast guard ramped up patrols over the weekend around outlying islands that have seen increased presence of Chinese vessels, the agency said yesterday, the eve of Lai Ching-te's inauguration as Taiwan's new president.

China claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, maintaining a near-daily military presence with frequent appearances of fighter jets, drones and naval ships.

It has also in recent months sent in Chinese coast guard ships around Kinmen, an outlying island administered by Taipei just five kilometers from the Chinese city of Xiamen.

Taipei's Coast Guard Administration said they have sent out personnel to "patrol all hours of the day and night" around Taiwan's three major outlying islands: Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu.

"In order to ensure the security of the sea area and border safety during the inauguration ceremony, the Ocean Affairs Council's Coast Guard Administration's Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Division once again implemented a powerful patrol operation to closely monitor suspicious targets," it said in a statement.

Kinmen has been the site of ramped-up tensions after Lai - who China has branded a "dangerous separatist" - was elected in January elections.

A deadly fishing incident in February involving a Chinese speedboat kicked off a row between China and Taiwan, which has yet to be resolved. It was carrying four people and capsized near Kinmen while Taiwan's coast guard was pursuing it, leaving two dead.

China has since stepped up patrols around Kinmen.

At least five formations of official Chinese ships have briefly sailed through Kinmen's restricted waters this month.

On the eve of Lai's inauguration, Taipei's defense ministry said it had detected seven Chinese aircraft and seven naval vessels around Taiwan in the 24-hour period leading up to 6am yesterday.

Across the strait in the Chinese seaside city of Pingtan - also home to a military base - reporters saw at least two military transport helicopters fly overhead in the morning.