Author: Ethan Connell
Taiwan detected 16 PRC vessels around the island on Oct. 18, including six China Coast Guard ships, six research and survey vessels, and four fishing vessels believed to be maritime militia, per National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu.
The vessels were spread from waters north and east of Taiwan to southwest of Kaohsiung and around Dongsha. Wu called the activity part of a pattern of expansionism and provocation across the wider Indo-Pacific.