Two Chinese coast guard ships appeared off Taiwan's east coast, and Taiwan sent its own vessels to shadow them — a tense but so far contained standoff.

• Two Chinese coast guard ships were spotted northeast of Green Island and east of Orchid Island on Tuesday afternoon.
• China called it a "routine law enforcement patrol"; Taiwan's Coast Guard called it fake enforcement and real harassment.
• Taiwan dispatched the patrol ship *Lanyu* and other vessels to track the Chinese ships the whole time.
• Taiwan rejected China's "China's Taiwan island" framing, saying the two sides are not subordinate to each other and China has no jurisdiction over Taiwan's waters.

Outlook: Expect more of these patrols as China tries to normalize a presence in waters Taiwan claims, with each one drawing a matching Taiwanese escort.