MAC Press Release No. 014
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) issued the following press release today (April 5, 2023) in response to an announcement made the same day by mainland China's Fujian Maritime Safety Administration about launching a special joint patrol and inspection operation in the central and northern parts of the Taiwan Strait, during which time the mainland Chinese maritime law enforcement officers would conduct on-site inspections of direct cross-Strait cargo ships and Mini-three-links passenger and cargo ships. The MAC stated that mainland China's move is a deliberate escalation of cross-Strait tensions that will undermine regional peace and stability. This operation is a clear violation of the Cross-Strait Sea Transport Agreement and general maritime practices, and will also have a serious and adverse impact on the normal traffic between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. The MAC has expressed strong dissatisfaction and solemn protest to the mainland Chinese authorities.
The MAC emphasized that, it is our government’s established policy direction to continue promoting the gradual resumption of healthy and orderly post-pandemic cross-Strait exchanges. However, if mainland China insists on taking unilateral and unreasonable actions to obstruct normal cross-Strait exchanges, our government will be forced to take corresponding actions, and the mainland Chinese authorities must bear the consequences of these countermeasures.