Taiwan’s Coast Guard has unveiled the last of its 12 new high-tech ships capable of carrying missiles, underscoring the changing nature of the maritime force’s mission to deter China.
The Anping-class catamaran patrol ships are based on the Taiwan Navy’s Tuo Chiang-class fast-attack warships. The highly maneuverable stealth vessels can disable larger warships while operating close to Taiwan’s shores. Anti-ship missiles can be fitted to the Coast Guard version as a backup to Navy vessels.
Taiwan Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling said the Coast Guard no longer performs solely traditional law enforcement duties.
“In recent years, the international situation has changed rapidly, and the challenges faced in the waters surrounding the Taiwan Strait have continued to intensify,” she said at the May 2026 naming ceremony for the 12th vessel, named Donggang, in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.
The Anping-class of ships was developed in response to the needs of a new era, said Kuan, who oversees the Coast Guard. “And once the situation escalates, through the wartime transition mechanism, it can quickly connect with the overall defense system, be incorporated into the order of battle and become an important force in the maritime defense line.”
China claims self-governed Taiwan as its territory and threatens to annex the island by force.
In December 2025, Beijing for the first time deployed naval ships and coast guard vessels within a previously respected 24-nautical-mile zone off Taiwan. The maneuvers reflect China’s move from periodic military exercises to large-scale drills that analysts consider rehearsals for an invasion.
The Taiwan Coast Guard is at the forefront of responding to what Taipei calls China’s increasing gray-zone harassment, actions such as the offshore exercises that stop short of combat but seek to deplete defenses. Taiwan routinely responds to such threats with asymmetric defense tactics, sometimes called the “porcupine strategy,” that emphasize mobile, lower-cost systems such as drones, anti-ship missiles and portable air-defense systems.
Indo-Pacific Allies and Partners including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States have called for maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan and mainland China.