Taiwan's coast guard ran a large joint sweep of the Matsu islands ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival to keep Chinese fishing boats out of its waters and crack down on smuggling — a show of force on Taiwan's front line with China.

• Coast guard, immigration, port police, and local police jointly patrolled the Matsu coast and surrounding waters over two days.
• Teams searched ports, abandoned buildings, bunkers, and beaches used by smugglers and stowaways, and stepped up cargo ship inspections.
• Chinese boats crossing into Taiwanese waters were chased out, partly to protect fishing grounds and undersea cables.
• The sweep caught one wanted fugitive, expelled three Chinese vessels, and boarded four Taiwanese fishing boats.
• Since last year, the Matsu coast guard has driven off hundreds of Chinese boats and detained four, showing how constant the pressure is around the islands.

Outlook: Taiwan will keep up heavy patrols around Matsu through the holiday, and clashes over Chinese boats and undersea cables near the islands are likely to continue.