Analysis
Op-Ed: China's Gray Zone Fleet is Undermining Taiwan's Control at Sea
China is deploying a maritime grey-zone fleet of civilian and paramilitary vessels to harass and pressure Taiwan below the threshold of armed conflict. Throughout 2025, Beijing increasingly used the maritime domain to probe Taiwan's waters, including mass swarming near outlying islands like Matsu, law-enforcement encroachment near Kinmen, and pressure on critical subsea cable infrastructure. This strategy aims to normalize Chinese presence, stretch Taiwan's response capacity and gradually erode control over its near seas without triggering conventional military response.