Four Chinese coast guard ships pushed into waters around Taiwan's Kinmen islands, a bad sign for calm in the Taiwan Strait and another step in China's slow pressure campaign on Taiwan.

• The ships crossed into Kinmen's restricted waters in single file early in the morning and left about three hours later.
• Taiwan's coast guard sent patrol boats to shadow them one-on-one, filmed the whole thing, and warned them off in Chinese and English.
• Taiwan called the move fake law enforcement meant to grab authority and change the status quo on its own terms.
• Kinmen sits just a few miles off China's coast, which makes it the easiest place for Beijing to test Taiwan's response without firing a shot.

Outlook: Taiwan says it will keep ships on patrol around the clock, so expect more of these standoffs rather than a single flashpoint.