Beijing sends largest patrol ship east of Taiwan after Japan-Philippine boundary talks

The Ministry of Transport ships are expected to conduct joint patrols with a coastguard formation dispatched to the same waters last Monday.The Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily published a commentary on Sunday that accused Japan and the Philippines, which already have long-running territorial disputes with Beijing, of becoming “a source of trouble” and a risk to regional peace.Late last month, the two countries said they would start formal negotiations to map out the maritime boundaries of their exclusive economic zones and continental shelves – which potentially overlap with Taiwan’s.Beijing denounced the boundary talks as “illegal and invalid”.State news agency Xinhua described the latest patrol as a “necessary action in response to Japan and the Philippines unilaterally announcing the start of maritime boundary negotiations in the waters east of China’s Taiwan island, gravely infringing upon China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests”.