“China will routinely carry out maritime surveys in the waters east of Taiwan in a bid to diversify claims to the international waters, the Chinese ministry of natural resources said, state media has reported.”
“The surveys will be carried out by mainland China as it looks to expand its control over the waters through several methods, including military drills, coastguard patrols and natural resources surveys, reported a state broadcaster-affiliated social media account.”
“The Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands, a national park toward the northern end of the South China Sea and lightly defended by the coast guard, have emerged as a new pressure point in China’s ongoing military and quasi-military operations around Taiwan in an effort to assert Beijing’s sovereignty claims.”
“The survey was an extension of Beijing’s ‘nearshore governance’, the article said.”
“It claimed that the waters east of Taiwan will be seen by China as our ‘near seas’ and the references to the Taiwan Strait will be reduced.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/china/china-taiwan-martime-surveys-east-sovereignty-b2999876.html