Taiwan Says Chinese Coast Guard, Taiwan says it will not ‘actively intervene’ in the passenger boat incident to avoid escalation of tensions. Taiwan has accused Chinese patrols of causing fear after officials boarded a Taiwanese tourist boat for inspection.
Taiwan Says Chinese Coast Guard Patrols Sparking Panic on Its Tourist Boats
On Monday, six Chinese Coast Guard officials boarded a Taiwanese tourist boat carrying 23 passengers and 11 crew members in Taiwan’s controlled Kinmen islands, a frontline only 3 kilometers from Chinese borders.
They spent half an hour aboard the sightseeing boat King Xia, verifying route plans, certificates, and crew licenses before departing, according to Taiwan’s coast guard.
In response, a Taiwan coast guard patrol arrived to accompany King Xia back to the dock.
“We believe it has hurt our people’s feelings and caused people to panic. “That was also not in the interests of the people across the strait,” Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, told reporters on the sidelines of parliament in Taipei on Tuesday.
The event occurred amid rising tensions as China increased patrols in the Kinmen archipelago. A Chinese finish boat capsized this week after being followed by Taiwan’s coast guard, killing two of the four persons on board.
Kinmen, which has a substantial Taiwanese military presence, is a short boat trip from the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou on the southeast coast. It has been ruled by Taipei since 1949 when the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong’s communists, who established the People’s Republic of China. Passengers on the sightseeing sailboat expressed anxiety and concern that they “would not be able to return to Taiwan”.
“I was quite shocked and very anxious,” one of the female passengers stated in a video aired on China Times. Ms Kuan stated that it was typical for Chinese and Taiwanese tourist boats to mistakenly reach the opposite side’s seas.
“Boats like these are not illegal at all,” she went on to say. On Tuesday, Taiwan’s coast guard said it chased away a Chinese counterpart’s boat that had entered the waters near its sensitive frontier islands.
A Chinese coast guard boat numbered 8029, entered Taiwan’s waters near Kinmen on Tuesday morning, according to a statement from Taiwan’s coast guard. The coast guard also said it despatched a boat and utilized radio and broadcast to drive away its Chinese counterpart, which left the region an hour later.
Taiwan’s defense minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng, stated in parliament on Tuesday that the military will not “actively intervene” in the incident of Chinese authorities accessing a passenger boat to prevent worsening tensions.
“Let’s handle the matter peacefully,” that’s what he stated. “Not escalating tensions is our response.” Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau has instructed Taiwanese vessels to deny any future requests from Chinese coast guards to board for inspection. Instead, they should immediately alert the Coast Guard Administration (CGA).
On Sunday, China declared that it would expand inspection patrols in the area and “strongly condemned” the drowning of two fishermen on a speedboat. On 14 February, a Chinese speedboat carrying four persons overturned, and Taiwan’s coast guard stated that the speedboat had “illegally [entered] Taiwanese waters”.
“Two were pronounced dead after efforts to resuscitate them failed,” the Coast Guard stated. “The other two are in stable condition and have been brought to Kinmen for further investigation by prosecutors.” Beijing has sought a probe, claiming that the incident “seriously hurt the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait”.
