Taipei: Taiwan's Coast Guard on Thursday expelled a China Coast Guard vessel that entered restricted waters near Taiwan-controlled Dongsha Island in the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said.

According to Focus Taiwan, the CGA's Dongsha-Nansha Branch stated in a news release that the vessel was initially detected at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday outside the restricted waters, heading toward the area. In response, the CGA dispatched the patrol ship Kaohsiung to monitor and intercept the vessel.

The Chinese vessel entered Taiwan's restricted waters at around 9:40 a.m., prompting the Kaohsiung to approach and issue radio warnings in both Chinese and English, ordering the vessel to leave the area. The vessel exited the restricted zone at around 10:55 a.m. on Thursday.

The CGA reported that it has expelled four incursions involving three Chinese coast guard vessels in restricted waters near Dongsha this year. These repeated entries, conducted without activating automatic identification systems (AIS), are suspected to be part of gray-zone tactics aimed at testing Taiwan's monitoring and response capabilities.

The CGA condemned these actions and urged China to cease such intrusions, affirming its determination and capability to safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty and maintain maritime safety. Dongsha Island, also internationally known as Pratas Island, is a small coral atoll administered by Taiwan, although China claims it as part of its broader South China Sea territory under the "Nine-dash line."