Taipei [Taiwan]: Taiwan rejected Beijing’s criticism of the Taiwanese Coast Guard’s handling of a case near Kinmen that left two Chinese fishermen dead and said that Taipei will continue to “enforce the law in waters it controls,” Focus Taiwan reported.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) — which is a top government agency in charge of cross-strait affairs — said in a statement on Sunday that the government will continue “to enforce the law in the waters it controls” based on the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.
Under the law, Taiwanese authorities may take any defensive action necessary if a Chinese vessel enters “restricted” or “prohibited” waters controlled by Taiwan, the MAC said.
The MAC also justified the Taiwan Coast Guard’s chase of a Chinese speedboat that trespassed within 1.1 nautical miles of the eastern coast of the Island of Kinmen on February 14, which resulted in the capsizing of the boat, as reported by Focus Taiwan.
All four men on the boat fell overboard and were picked up by the Coast Guard. Two of them were taken to the hospital but were pronounced dead after efforts to resuscitate them failed.
Later in the day, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), issued a statement strongly condemning Taiwan over the deaths of the two Chinese nationals.
On February 15, the MAC responded by calling the incident “regrettable,” but said an investigation indicated that Taiwanese officers had acted “lawfully.” It also urged China to take effective actions to restrict illegal activities by its nationals in Taiwan’s waters.
However, China denied the concept of “prohibited or restricted areas,” arguing that fishermen from both sides of the Strait have traditionally operated in the waters around Xiamen and Kinmen, which are separated by a distance of fewer than 10 kilometres in Taiwan.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said that Taiwan should release both the boat and the two Chinese nationals as soon as possible, adding that “China reserves the right to take further measures, and Taiwan will bear all consequences.”
China’s Coast Guard further announced that it will “enhance its maritime law enforcement capabilities and increase regular patrols in the waters around Xiamen and Kinmen.”
Notably, at present, the prohibited zone around the main islands of Kinmen and Little Kinmen extends about halfway to the Chinese coast to the north and northeast, up to about four kilometres to the east, and about eight kilometres to the south, according to Focus Taiwan.
Following Beijing’s latest move, the Kinmen County Government, the Kinmen Fishermen’s Association and opposition Kuomintang lawmaker Jessica Chen, who represents Kinmen, all expressed concern and urged local fishermen to exercise caution while operating at sea.
