MOFA strongly condemns China’s so-called law enforcement activities in waters east of Taiwan；highlights Taiwan’s position on Japan-Philippines maritime negotiations

MOFA strongly condemns China's so-called law enforcement activities in waters east of Taiwan；highlights Taiwan's position on Japan-Philippines maritime negotiations

• Date：2026-06-09
• Data Source：Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

June 9, 2026
No. 256

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) solemnly points out that China has no right to engage in law enforcement activities in Taiwan's eastern waters under any pretext. Nor does China have the right to expand its claims to jurisdiction over waters surrounding Taiwan using as its rationale for the possible negotiation of maritime boundaries by Japan and the Philippines.

Taiwan wholeheartedly refutes China's continued attempts to regularize law enforcement activities and patrols in Taiwan's eastern waters. MOFA strongly condemns China for disrupting regional peace and stability and for challenging the international order.

MOFA solemnly states that any negotiations between parties should not affect the rights and interests of Taiwan. As Taiwan is a stakeholder in relevant areas, it will continue to work through multiple channels to express its stance to the nations involved while upholding Taiwan's maritime rights.

As concerns the possible launch of formal negotiations on exclusive economic zones and the continental shelf between Japan and the Philippines, MOFA has expressed the following to the governments of the two countries:

First, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties as well as international legal precedent, bilateral treaties or agreements are only valid for contracting countries; they do not affect the rights and interests of third parties. Japan has made statements aligned with this position on several occasions. For example, on June 8, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association stated that negotiations between Japan and the Philippines would not affect the rights of third parties. As such, negotiations on the delimitation of maritime boundaries between Japan and the Philippines do not have any effect on Taiwan, nor do they affect the present or future rights and interests of Taiwan as concerns its EEZ to Taiwan's east.

Second, if Japan and the Philippines engage in related negotiations in the future, the two parties should fully take into account Taiwan's rights and interests in overlapping waters and maintain communication and consultations with Taiwan.

Third, existing cooperation mechanisms－such as the Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Agreement, signed in 2013, and the Agreement Concerning the Facilitation of Cooperation on Law Enforcement in Fisheries Matters, concluded by Taiwan and the Philippines in 2015－remain in force. Taiwan continues to engage in communication and exchanges concerning related maritime issues with both Japan and the Philippines via these arrangements.

MOFA also makes a clarification in response to false narratives that conflate the delimitation of exclusive economic zones with territorial or maritime sovereignty and make claims that Taiwan's territory or territorial waters would be partitioned. Such assertions are not in keeping with how international maritime law actually applies and do not match the facts on the ground. In accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an exclusive economic zone is a maritime regime under which a coastal state enjoys certain sovereign rights and jurisdiction over maritime resources. It is not indicative of a state's territory or territorial waters.

Therefore, negotiations on the delimitation of exclusive economic zones between Japan and the Philippines do not involve Taiwan's sovereignty or the right of Taiwan's fishers to conduct legitimate operations in Taiwan's exclusive economic zone.

Furthermore, Japan and the Philippines have not yet launched negotiations or established a timeline for doing so. Claims that Taiwan's fishers will be immediately subject to onboard inspections, detention, or operational restrictions as a result of negotiations are inconsistent with the facts.

MOFA will continue to remain in close contact with related countries and firmly uphold Taiwan's maritime rights and interests as well as those of its fishers. MOFA urges all sectors to consider issues rationally and not be misled by false information. MOFA calls on the international community to pay close attention to China's recent provocative actions in the waters surrounding Taiwan, which have undermined regional peace and stability, and jointly safeguard a free and open Indo-Pacific order. (E)