![The Enping 21-4 A1H wellhead platform, developed by the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation, can produce 700 tons of oil daily, contributing to China's expanding drill operations in the South China Sea. [China Central Television]](/gc9/images/2025/09/26/52143-oil_rig-370_237.webp)
By Jia Feimau |
Beijing's "gray zone" operations have expanded from the Taiwan Strait to the South China Sea.
China claims more than 80% of that sea, even though neighboring countries reject its case.
Chinese drilling platforms in Taiwan's EEZ
In the past five years, China has deployed 12 oil drilling platforms in Taiwan's Dongsha Islands (Pratas Islands) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), heightening regional tensions.
The platforms stand just 48km from the islands' restricted waters.
![A map of the South China Sea showing the distribution of oil and gas reserves, with an estimated 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 11 billion barrels of oil in proved and probable reserves. The map highlights the energy exploration and development blocks claimed by China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia and joint development areas. [Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative/CSIS]](/gc9/images/2025/09/26/52144-scs_energy-370_237.webp)
The area called Pratas Islands contains only one actual island (Pratas), an atoll and two sandbanks.
These platforms, developed by the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), include seven drilling jackets, three floating production storage and offloading units and two semisubmersible platforms, all within Taiwan's claimed EEZ, according to a September report by Jamestown Foundation.
Slow but steady infringement
China's stepped-up drilling is part of a broader effort to take over disputed waters in the South China Sea, says Taiwan.
If the facilities operate unchallenged indefinitely, China gains de facto control of the area around them without an open conflict, said Jamestown.
In addition, they enable China to exploit resources against Taiwan's wishes.
A September 8 report by Domino Theory revealed two additional platforms, Nanhai 5 and Nanhai 7, operating in Taiwan's EEZ. The Nanhai 7 flies a Liberian flag as a form of disguise.
However, China's Maritime Safety Agency has made the coordinates of these platforms' towing operations public in advance, normalizing their intrusions.
"Large-scale deep-water rigs are our mobile national territory and a strategic weapon," then-CNOOC Chairman Wang Yilin said in 2012.
Potential military applications
The platforms, capable of military and civilian use, could enhance China's coercion, blockade and even invasion capabilities against Taiwan.
They can host attack helicopters and surface-to-air missiles, said the Jamestown report. Such dual-use facilities form part of Beijing's multidimensional warfare strategy, which includes cognitive, legal and economic tactics.
In addition, the platforms can accommodate various surveillance sensors and artillery, contributing to China's "military-civil fusion" strategy, Lin Chauluen, a Taiwan-based defense analyst, said in an article for Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
Chinese militia vessels, often disguised as fishing boats, regularly operate around the Pratas Islands and further escalate tensions.
Suggestions for Taiwan
Taiwan should enhance satellite surveillance and intelligence sharing to document these unlawful activities and expose their illegality to the international community, Lin wrote.
The Domino Theory report highlighted the challenges of satellite monitoring due to weather conditions and imaging gaps. It urged Taiwan to improve its coast guard and law enforcement capabilities.
Distance is a problem for Taiwanese defenders.
Pratas Island lies 445km from Kaohsiung port in southern Taiwan. While an hour's flight away, it takes a day to reach by sea. The island houses a small contingent of marines and coast guard officers.
China could invade small islands like Pratas with minimal military preparation, the US Defense Department said in its 2021 report on Chinese military power.
One lesson might come from Vietnam, another country enmeshed in maritime disputes with China.
Vietnam's consistent protests against Chinese drilling in the Vietnamese EEZ have hindered Beijing's expansion. Jamestown urged Taiwan to follow suit to avoid encouraging Beijing's encroachments.
Denunciation by Taiwan
Taiwan's Presidential Office recently condemned China's drilling activities in the Taiwanese EEZ and others around the South China Sea, stating that it violates international law and endangers regional stability.
"This not only violates international legal norms such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), but also seriously undermines the international order and poses uncertain risks to regional stability," the office said in a statement, demanding China "immediately stop" the illegal activities.
Taiwan reaffirmed Taiwan's commitment to cooperating with regional nations to ensure regional security.