Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen Image:AP
Taipei – Amid brewing tensions between Taiwan and China, the Chinese Coast Guards have boarded a Taiwanese tourist vessel in the waters between China’s mainland and Taiwan’s Kinmen islands. The operation took place days after a boat capsized in the region, killing two Chinese nationals. On Monday, Taiwan’s Coast Guard Authority (CGA) said that the island region’s sight-seeing ferry King Xia was intercepted by two Chinese coast guard patrol vessels. As per the statement, six Chinese officials boarded the King Xia and asked to inspect the documentation of the crew, before disembarking the vessel 30 minutes later, The Guardian reported. The vessel comprised 11 crew and 23 passengers on a tour around the Kinmen’s main island.
In the statement. the CGA admitted that the vessel in question strayed slightly off the coast. However, the authorities made it clear that Chinese and Taiwanese tourist vessels often accidentally cross into the other side’s waters but the CGA has never tried to board any such vessels. Shortly after the incident, the Taiwanese authorities went on to urge the Chinese Coastguards to “uphold peace and rationality”. Meanwhile, Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council told reporters on Tuesday that the actions of the Chinese authorities have “triggered panic” among the people of Taiwan. “Boats like these are not illegal at all,” the officer exclaimed.
Following the incident, Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau urged the Taiwanese vessels to refuse any similar future requests from the Chinese Coast Guard to board a vessel for “inspection”. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s defence minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Tuesday that the region’s military would not “actively intervene” in the matter to prevent any sort of escalations. “Let’s handle the matter peacefully,” he told reporters. Last week, a Chinese fishing boat capsized while it was being chased by Taiwan’s coast guard. After the boat capsized, two of the four people on board died and the other two were detained by the Taiwanese Coast Guards. At that time, Beijing condemned the death of the two Chinese nationals and demanded further investigation into the matter. The Xi Jinping administration also pledged to increase its inspection patrols in the area. The Taiwanese government on the other hand defended the incident and stated that the Chinese crew had illegally entered Taiwanese waters and “refused to cooperate” with requests to board for inspection and eventually sped away.
