China held a “law enforcement operation” in waters east of Taiwan following recent talks between Japan and the Philippines to draw a boundary there, state media reported on Saturday.

Tokyo and Manila said last month they would start formal talks “to delimit the maritime boundary” of an economic zone and continental shelf between them, angering Beijing.

China, which asserts Taiwan is part of its territory, called the talks “illegal” and has claimed exclusive control over the waters concerned.

On Saturday, Beijing’s Transport Ministry organized maritime police from coastal provinces Fujian and Guangdong to “conduct a special maritime traffic law enforcement operation in waters east of Taiwan Island”, state news agency Xinhua said.

The operation was “a necessary action taken against Japan and the Philippines’ unilateral announcement they would start ‘negotiations on delimiting a maritime boundary’” near Taiwan, Xinhua added.

Earlier, Taiwan said it should be consulted on the Japan-Philippines talks. Taiwan’s coast guard said Sunday it has deployed vessels “to respond appropriately” to a Chinese operation in waters east of the democratic island, which it said “violates international law”.

The Chinese vessels have been monitored “throughout the entire process” and Taiwan “has deployed the necessary vessels to respond appropriately,” the coast guard said in a statement.

Manila and Tokyo’s shared grievances over Chinese maritime territorial claims have seen them draw increasingly close in recent years.

Japan and China are in territorial and economic disputes in the East China Sea, where coast guard ships from both sides routinely stage tense standoffs.

Beijing has meanwhile deployed navy and coast guard vessels in the South China Sea, in a bid to bar the Philippines from strategically important reefs and islands, leading to a string of confrontations. AFP