Typhoon Disruption or Pressure Tactic? China’s Taiwan Strait Order Raises Questions

China enacted a temporary shipping traffic restriction in the southern section of the Taiwan Strait on Aug 7 and ordered ships to comply with its maritime traffic direction due to Typhoon Dolphin. The order was rejected on the spot by Taiwan, which pointed out that Beijing has no right to control the passage of ships through international waters.

The disagreement is over one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, and questions of maritime safety are intertwined with sovereignty issues between Beijing and Taipei, which have been around for a long time. China named the steps as precautionary measures related to the impending typhoon, but Taiwan deemed the directive to be another move to claim control over the strait.

The Taiwan Coast Guard said as of Aug. 8 that it had not detected any unusual activity by Chinese ships or heard any reports from shipping companies that they were compelled to follow instructions from the Chinese government on their broadcasts.

What the Strait Order Covers

Vessels crossing the Taiwan Strait in the southern route were asked to set up temporary traffic control and take shelter if they need to, as well as obey the guidance of maritime authorities issued due to Typhoon Dolphin, from Thursday night, Chinese state news media said.

The storm was heading north of Taiwan, and was expected to hit the East Coast of the People’s Republic of China late Saturday or early Sunday. Taiwan raised doubts about the boundaries of the controls, since the typhoon was expected to stay well off the southern strait.

Taiwan warned Beijing’s order could disrupt shipping in the waters it views as part of an international shipping lane.

Each year, the Taiwan Strait has an enormous amount of commercial shipping that passes through, making it a vital shipping route between the South China Sea and the East China Sea. The island of Taiwan insists the strait is open and available for international shipping, while China asserts its sovereignty over it and Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Legal Challenge and Coast Guard Response

Taiwan argued its rejection of China’s directive was based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Taipei contended that ships exercising transit rights through the strait shouldn’t be open to Beijing’s one-sided restrictions.

UNCLOS acknowledges the freedom of transit through straits that are used for international navigation. China has signed the convention but has insisted that it has jurisdiction over the waters surrounding Taiwan, in terms of its strict claims over the territory.

Taiwan’s Coast Guard had not seen anything unusual in the movements of Chinese boats after the announcement, it said. It also reported no incidents of interference with radio communications from the shipping companies.

The agency urged merchant ships to report any Chinese broadcast directions that it felt could impact ships’ navigation rights and would take action to protect maritime safety.

Sovereignty Dispute Behind the Weather Framing

The disagreement is symptomatic of a larger controversy regarding the legality of the Taiwan Strait.

China has set its stance on the strait as being under its sovereignty and jurisdiction based on the fact that it views Taiwan as part of the Chinese mainland. The Chinese government has claimed that the waters around Taiwan are part of its internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone.

Taiwan has refused to recognize Beijing’s sovereignty claim and insists that the fate of the island be left up to the people of Taiwan.

Under the reign of Taiwan, there would be portions of the Taiwan Strait open to international navigation rights, due to the separation between Taiwan and the Penghu islands from mainland China, legal commentators have pointed out. The narrowest part of the strait is approximately 140 kilometers wide, meaning that waters beyond the territorial seas claimed by either side.

A Pattern of Administrative Pressure

The Taiwanese government has in the past cast doubts on Beijing’s claim to being only a military threat to Taiwan, stating that it also uses civilian and coast guard vessels to assert its presence in waters surrounding the island.

During Typhoon Kong-rey in October 2024, vessels from the Chinese Coast Guard entered waters near Kinmen, said Taiwan’s Coast Guard in a statement. Taipei accused the move of taking place during dangerous weather conditions, as civilian ships also sailed there.

The latest shipping directive has renewed debate over whether Beijing’s action was solely a weather-related safety measure or part of a broader effort to reinforce its jurisdictional claims.

There is no public evidence that commercial vessels were forced to follow the Aug. 7 order. Taiwan’s Coast Guard said no confirmed incidents had been reported as of Aug. 8, and shipping operators had not publicly said whether they complied with or ignored Chinese instructions.

The absence of confirmed enforcement leaves the practical impact of the directive unresolved, even as it adds another point of tension between China and Taiwan over the status of the strategically important waterway.