ASIATODAY.ID, TAIPEI – Taiwanese authorities expelled a Chinese Coast Guard vessel that entered waters near a remote Taiwanese island, Taipei said on Tuesday, as cross-border tensions escalated following the deaths of two Chinese fishermen last week when their boat was chased by Taiwanese authorities.
The Chinese boat entered waters near Kinmen, just a few kilometers from Xiamen, a port city in China’s Fujian province, at 9.05 a.m. and left an hour later after the Taiwanese vessel chased it away using radio and broadcast equipment, Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said.
A day earlier, China inspected a Taiwanese tourist boat in the area, with Chinese Coast Guard officers checking the itinerary, certificates and permits of the captain and crew.
The tour boat had 11 crew and 23 passengers on board and was about 5.2 km northwest of Wushajiao Kinmen when it was intercepted by two Chinese coast guard ships on Monday at 16:47 local time, Taiwan’s coast guard said, adding that Chinese officials left the scene about 30 minutes later.
Passengers were worried about the checks and feared they would not be able to return to Taiwan, according to the island’s media.
Last Wednesday, a Chinese fishing boat from Fujian capsized in waters near Kinmen after being chased away by Tawian authorities, with all four crew members falling into the sea. The two surviving fishermen were detained on the remote island before being deported on Tuesday, according to Taiwanese media.
Taipei claims the Chinese boat is prohibited from entering these waters. Following the incident, Beijing on Monday said it would step up patrols in the area.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of China’s State Council, criticized the island’s ruling and independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party for the incident, saying the DPP government had “forcibly detained mainland fishing boats” and “treated them harshly.” Chinese fishermen.
Kinmen is the scene of some of the biggest clashes in history following a civil war that saw mainland China and Taiwan ruled separately since 1949. Beijing considers the self-ruled island part of its territory. (Kyodo-OANA)
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