Chinese 'research ships' stalk Taiwan's coast

But due to Beijing's sovereignty claim over Taiwan and its waters — which Beijing threatens to enforce militarily if Taipei resists submitting to its control indefinitely — Taipei cannot resort to protection by this international legal framework. China frequently uses vessels operated by government and military-affiliated research institutes to assert its claims in disputed waters, sailing close to oil exploration sites inside the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam and Malaysia in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety. Maritime research vessels can measure water temperature, salinity and ocean currents and map the seabed — data which…