China Launches 5000-ton Large Patrol Vessel... Jurisdiction Over Taiwan Strait

Displacement 5560t, Top Speed 20 Knots, Range 10,000 Nautical Miles
Deployment by Year-End... Expected to Oversee Taiwan Strait and Senkaku Islands

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] China has launched a large maritime patrol vessel that will oversee the southeastern sea areas, including the Taiwan Strait.

According to Chinese media such as Global Times on the 10th, the Wuhan Wuchang Shipbuilding Group Shipyard held the launching ceremony of the 5,000-ton large maritime patrol vessel "Haixun 06" on the 8th.

The patrol vessel is reported to be 128.6 meters long, with a designed displacement of 5,560 tons, a top speed of 20 knots, and a maximum cruising range of 10,000 nautical miles.

China Marine Surveillance Ship in charge of the southeastern sea area of China (Photo by Global Times Capture)

Global Times described it as a ship capable of sailing for 60 days without external resupply and said it is the largest patrol vessel overseeing China's southeastern coastal waters.

The patrol vessel is scheduled to be deployed to the Fujian Maritime Safety Administration by the end of this year and will be used for missions including maintaining maritime sovereignty, maritime traffic supervision, accident response and emergency rescue, marine pollution prevention, and exchanges with Taiwan, Global Times reported.

Since the US Navy Aegis destroyer USS John S. McCain passed through the Taiwan Strait on the 4th under the pretext of "freedom of navigation," China has strongly protested, and military tensions surrounding the Taiwan Strait have continued even after the inauguration of US President Joe Biden.

Additionally, Japan has shown a sensitive reaction as China has implemented the Coast Guard Law allowing the use of weapons by the coast guard within its territorial waters. China and Japan are in dispute over the Senkaku Islands (Chinese name: Diaoyu Islands).