image source, Taiwan Coast Guard Bureau
Taiwanese coast guard inspects vessel that capsized during pursuit off Kinmen Island
Two Chinese fishermen drowned while being chased by Taiwan’s coast guard off the coast of the Kinmen Islands, the northernmost tip of Taiwan.
The city of Taipei said the fishing boat entered Taiwan’s territorial waters on Wednesday.
The four fishermen on board resisted inspection, and the boat capsized when authorities pursued them.
The Chinese government “strongly condemned” the incident, saying it “deeply hurt the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.”
Kinmen is just 3 km (1.86 miles) off China’s southeast coast and is at the forefront of tensions between China and Taiwan.
China views autonomous Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually become part of the country, and has not ruled out using force to achieve this goal.
In recent years, Kinmen residents have reported witnessing an increased presence of Chinese dredgers near Kinmen. The archipelago has a population of approximately 180,000 people and is located 187 kilometers from mainland Taiwan.
Resuscitation efforts failed for two of the four people on board the Chinese vessel, and they were pronounced dead at a hospital, the coast guard said.
“The other two people are in stable condition and have been taken to Kinmen Island for further investigation by the public prosecutor’s office.”
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office called on Taiwanese authorities to investigate the incident and provide support to the victim’s family.
Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the bureau, accused Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party of “using various pretexts to forcibly seize Chinese fishing boats and using violent and dangerous methods against Chinese fishermen.”
He said the Chinese government believes that communities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are part of “one family.”
“We have made a lot of efforts to facilitate normal operations for fishermen on both sides,” she said.
Taiwanese authorities on Thursday defended the Japan Coast Guard’s actions and called on Beijing to “curb similar acts” in Chinese waters.
“Recently, many Chinese fishing vessels have continued to enter restricted and prohibited areas to take advantage of the Lunar New Year to catch high-value fish,” the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Committee said.
“We deeply regret that such an unfortunate incident occurred as the Chinese crew refused to cooperate with our law enforcement operations,” the ministry said.