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ALERT

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Military exercises by China in waters off Taiwan

Updated 5 August 2022

China has announced that military and gun firing will be carried out in certain areas off Taiwan. Shipping traffic along regular routes may be impacted as a result.

Our correspondents in China and Taiwan have informed us that Chinese People's Liberation Army would conduct important military exercises and training activities including live-fire drills in the below mentioned maritime areas and their air space commencing at 0400 UTC on 04 August 2022 till 0400 UTC on 07 August 2022.

We have been advised that there is possibly an additional area where military exercises are scheduled until 08 August 0200 UTC, although our correspondent in China informs us that they are not aware of this new exercise area as there has been no official announcement by China. We have nonetheless included the coordinates for this new area (which partially overlaps with Area 4) below and have named it as Area 4a. It is to be noted that for this area navigational warning messages mention that ‘Hazard operations’ will be carried out, whereas for the other six areas it is mentioned that ‘Gunnery’ and/or ‘Military exercises’ will be carried out.

Area 1
25-15.26 N, 120-29.20 E;
24-50.30 N, 120-05.45 E;
25-04.32 N, 119-51.22 E;
25-28.12 N, 120-14.30 E.

     

Area 2
26-07.00 N, 121-57.00 E
25-30.00 N, 121-57.00 E
25-30.00 N, 121-28.00 E
26-07.00 N, 121-28.00 E

Area 3
25-34.00 N, 122-50.00 E
25-03.00 N, 122-50.00 E
25-03.00 N, 122-11.00 E
25-34.00 N, 122-11.00 E

 

Area 4
22-56.00 N, 122-40.00 E
23-38.00 N, 122-51.00 E
23-38.00 N, 123-23.00 E
22-56.00 N, 123-09.00 E

Area 4a
23-13.00 N ,122-30.00 E
23-13.00 N, 122-54.00 E
23-40.00 N, 122-54.00 E
23-40.00 N, 122-30.00 E

 

Area 5
21-14.00 N ,121-33.00 E
21-33.00 N, 121-18.00 E
21-07.00 N, 120-43.00 E
20-48.00 N, 120-59.00 E

Area 6
22-43.00 N, 119-14.00 E
22-10.00 N, 119-06.00 E
21-33.00 N, 120-29.00 E
22-09.00 N, 120-32.00 E

 

 
 

Impact on shipping

Some of the areas are located in busy traffic routes where, in addition to merchant traffic, density of fishing boats is high.  In addition, these areas are close to port entrances, such as Area 6 which is approximately 15nm from entrance to the busy Kaohsiung port.

Vessels navigating in and around this region are advised to:

  • Mark all identified areas on the charts.
  • Voyage plans should be amended to avoid entering the areas. Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau (MOTC) has advised that “Vessels sailing between the waters west of Area 1 and Pingtan should endeavor to avoid the area and the surrounding waters in order to ensure navigation safety”. The notice to mariners issued by them can be accessed here.
  • Good bridge watchkeeping practices are critical for collision avoidance.
  • Ensure AIS is working properly.
  • Keep a close watch on VHF Ch.16 and respond to any radio communication by the navy or military in the area.
  • If heading for ports in Taiwan, then contact the appointed local agents for updates.
  • Keep a close watch on Navtex and other sources of navigational warnings since the coordinates of the areas or the duration can change without prior notification. 

Functioning of ports

We have been advised that all ports in Taiwan are functioning as normal and the traffic movement in and out of ports is not disrupted. 

Members are advised to share this alert with their vessels bound for or trading in this region. 

We would like to thank our correspondents, Huatai Insurance Agency in China and Taiwan Maritime Services Limited in Taiwan for sharing this information.

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