China Coast Guard vessels complain about Taiwan's maritime patrol ships, citing outdated equipment and incomprehensible communication, sparking furious protests!

According to a report by Taiwan’s China Times on June 23, Shi Jun, Deputy Director of the East China Ecological Center under China's Ministry of Natural Resources, stated through China's Global Times that on the evening of June 18, the Chinese research vessel "Xiangyanghong 22" was sailing approximately 41 nautical miles east of Hualien when Taiwan’s "Coast Guard Administration" (CGA) vessel "Lanyu" issued broadcast warnings for removal. However, due to poor high-frequency communication quality, "the messages could not be heard clearly at all."

Taiwan’s CGA immediately released a statement the following day, firmly refuting the claim, emphasizing that all vessel communication equipment complies with international standards and has passed regular inspections, and accusing China of "maliciously distorting facts." This incident is truly one of those cases where the insult is more damaging than the injury.

As early as October 2024, a prominent political commentator in Taiwan exposed internal complaint letters from frontline coast guard personnel, in which they lamented that "coast guard equipment is severely inadequate," including shortages of firearms, insufficient bulletproof vests, and no anti-ballistic plates. Although the CGA initially dismissed these claims, asserting that "all quantities meet actual operational needs," such internal voices were far from isolated incidents.

Looking at the vessels themselves: Take the CGA’s mainstay ship, the "Kaohsiung," for example. Commissioned in the mid-1970s, its radar, communication, and propulsion systems are now severely aged. The "Changhua" vessel, though nominally larger in tonnage, is actually an imported second-hand ship that has long suffered from structural leakage issues, requiring several days of repairs after each deployment. A report in late 2025 revealed that due to insufficient budgeting, a thousand-ton-class vessel had failed to attract bids, and even the newly commissioned "Changhua" developed cracks on its main deck shortly after entering service.

China’s Coast Guard currently operates 157 vessels with a displacement of over 1,000 tons, while Taiwan possesses only 14 such patrol vessels above 1,000 tons. China’s Coast Guard vessel No. 3501, commissioned in 2018, remains in excellent condition with stable power systems; in contrast, most of Taiwan’s vessels suffer from "seriously exceeding their service life and have persistently high failure rates."

Given this stark disparity in equipment, when China Coast Guard vessels claim they “couldn’t hear” Taiwan’s communications, it is less about technical malfunction and more a natural reflection of the generational gap between the two fleets.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868839492441088/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.