China escalated its criticism of planned maritime boundary talks between Japan and the Philippines, issuing a legal opinion that says the proposed delimitation in waters east of Taiwan “constitutes a severe violation of international law” and an “internationally wrongful act.” The document, released by the China Institute for Marine Affairs, a think tank under the Ministry of Natural Resources, argues that the areas under discussion substantially overlap with China’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS.

The opinion targets negotiations announced in late May during Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s visit to Japan, when Tokyo and Manila said they would begin formal maritime delimitation talks. According to the Beijing-based institute, the decision to move ahead without consulting China disregards what it describes as the “specific geographical circumstances” of the region and violates principles of sovereign equality, good faith, cooperation and self-restraint in international law. The paper contends that by negotiating bilaterally, Japan and the Philippines are attempting to bypass a direct stakeholder.

China’s Foreign Ministry had already condemned the initiative shortly after it was unveiled, with spokeswoman Mao Ning saying the move “severely violates” China’s maritime rights and interests and UNCLOS. Beijing has lodged formal diplomatic protests with both governments, and relevant Chinese authorities, including the China Coast Guard, have stepped up patrols in waters east of Taiwan in recent days. At a news conference, Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, described the proposed talks as “completely illegal, null and void,” asserting that the coast guard activities in the area are a lawful exercise of jurisdiction.

The legal opinion goes beyond procedural objections, warning Tokyo and Manila not to “challenge the one-China principle under the pretext of ‘delimitation’.” It calls on the two countries to halt the talks and instead enter into consultations with China, and urges third states not to assist what it characterizes as an internationally wrongful act. While Japan and the Philippines have framed their move as a step toward clarifying overlapping maritime entitlements, Beijing’s latest intervention underscores how efforts to draw formal sea boundaries in the Western Pacific are increasingly intersecting with broader disputes over sovereignty, jurisdiction and the legal interpretation of UNCLOS.

Taiwanese prosecutors have intensified an investigation into alleged large-scale budget inflation at state-owned CPC Corp.’s third liquefied natural gas receiving terminal, launching a fourth round of coordinated searches targeting construction contractor Royal Chang Construction Co. and related parties. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office ordered investigators from the Agency Against Corruption and the Investigation Bureau to fan out across 27 locations, summoning 14 people for questioning in connection with the Guantang LNG terminal’s offshore breakwater works.

The probe centers on claims that the budget for the Guantang terminal’s "outer extension" breakwater project was repeatedly marked up in a short period. According to an anonymous complaint backed by a key audio recording cited in multiple reports, the original estimate of about NT$94 billion ($2.9 billion) rose through at least four rounds of increases to a final contract value of NT$253 billion. The recording is said to suggest that the price escalation was driven from the CPC side, with a specified construction firm ultimately winning the contract under a "most advantageous tender" mechanism.

Prosecutors began looking into the case last year after receiving the anonymous submission. To secure documents and electronic records, they carried out three search operations between December and early January that covered CPC, engineering consultant CECI Engineering Consultants’ Taiwan unit, and residences and offices of individuals linked to the project, seizing materials from a total of 11 sites and bringing in former CECI chairman Shih Yi-fang and others for questioning. All those questioned in those rounds, as well as the 14 individuals brought in following the latest searches, were released after questioning as the investigation continues.

The scale and pace of the inquiry has drawn political scrutiny. Opposition lawmaker Lo Chih-chiang has criticized what he describes as slow progress in moving from initial complaints, which he says date back to 2022, to raids on the winning contractor, questioning why the latest search of Royal Chang came months after earlier actions against CPC and consultants. Lo has also highlighted CPC’s high leverage and reliance on state-backed financing as reasons for closer oversight of major capital spending. The Ministry of Economic Affairs said it had already conducted an administrative probe at the request of the Legislative Yuan and forwarded its findings to prosecutors in January, while CPC has pledged to keep cooperating with judicial authorities in an effort to clarify the facts.