By Yimou Lee
TAIPEI, July 20 (Reuters) - Taiwan detected a sharp rise in Chinese coast guard and research vessel activity around the island in June, prompting Taipei to plan drills simulating Chinese escalations off its Pacific coast, according to Taiwan Coast Guard data and officials.
Taiwan reported 55 Chinese government vessel sightings, including coast guard and research boats, around the island in June, up from 30 in May, the data showed.
The sightings marked an 83% increase from May and a 120% rise from 25 sightings in June last year. The tally excluded sightings around Taiwan-controlled islands near the Chinese coast.
The figures underscore the growing role of China's coast guard in Beijing's latest pressure campaign against Taiwan, which angers Taipei and alarms some Western nations including U.S., Britain, France and Germany.
China's military operates almost daily around Taiwan, but Beijing has increasingly used its coast guard to assert its territorial claims in what Taipei calls "lawfare" — efforts to create a legal basis for Chinese actions around the island.
Taiwan officials said the activity points to a critical wartime risk: that Beijing may be rehearsing how to sever Taiwan's Pacific supply lines from allies.
"If the situation escalates to a blockade — or what would already amount to a quasi-war — we have plans to work with the navy to jointly protect Taiwan's lifeline sea routes," a senior Taiwan Coast Guard official said at a briefing, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"We have anticipated this scenario not only through tabletop exercises but also through live drills," the official said.
China's defence ministry and Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
China does not recognise Taiwan sovereignty and says the democratic island is part of China. Taipei says Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty or jurisdiction over the island or its waters and that only the Taiwanese people can decide their future.
CONVERTED CHINESE WARSHIPS
A senior Taiwan Coast Guard official said some Chinese coast guard ships had been converted from former naval destroyers and repainted for coast guard use, posing a heightened threat to Taiwan's coast guard because of their size, endurance and military-grade capabilities.
Chinese coast guard vessels now often operate in pairs just outside Taiwan's economic waters in the Pacific, an expansive area that places a major strain on Taiwan's limited coast guard fleet, the official added.
"This places a major strain on the capacity of Taiwan's coast guard vessels," the official said.
A second senior official described the Chinese activity as "expansion" and an attempt to change the status quo.
China's coast guard had broadcast questions to merchant vessels about port entry and exit information, putting pressure on commercial shipping even though no vessel had so far changed course, officials said.
Taiwan had broadcast back to the ships, telling them to maintain normal navigation and ignore Chinese interference.
"It knows it has no jurisdiction now, so it is trying to create something out of nothing," said the second official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
(Reporting By Yimou Lee; additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Michael Perry)
