China sent coast guard ships into waters near Taiwan's Kinmen islands again, a move Taiwan calls a provocation but one it says it handled without incident.

• Four Chinese coast guard ships sailed into restricted waters off Kinmen, and Taiwan's coast guard moved in to track and record them side by side.
• Taiwan accuses China of using fake law enforcement to expand its reach and chip away at the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
• This is the fourth such intrusion near Kinmen in about a week, suggesting a pattern rather than a one-off incident.
• Taiwan's coast guard broadcast warnings in Chinese and English telling the ships to leave, and the Chinese vessels exited after a few hours.
• Taiwan says it will keep close watch on Chinese ship movements while avoiding provocation but also refusing to back down.

Outlook: Expect more repeated Chinese coast guard incursions near Kinmen as pressure on Taiwan continues, with Taiwan likely sticking to its watch-and-warn approach rather than escalating.