The Chinese coast guard detained a Taiwanese fishing vessel off China’s southeast coast on Tuesday night, marking the latest escalation in tensions surrounding a group of frontline islands controlled by Taipei.
Taiwan’s coast guard reported that the fishing boat, Tachinman 88, was intercepted by two Chinese coast guard vessels near the Kinmen islands, located just miles from the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou. All five crew members were detained, according to Taiwanese authorities.
The incident occurred as China coast guard officers boarded the fishing boat and escorted it to a nearby Chinese port. The Taiwanese coast guard stated that three of its vessels responded to a distress call but retreated to avoid conflict when outnumbered by the Chinese coast guard.
China’s coast guard confirmed the detention, stating on Wednesday that its Fujian division had “lawfully boarded, inspected, and detained a Taiwanese fishing vessel suspected of illegal fishing in the offshore waters near Quanzhou.” The spokesperson, Liu Dejun, accused the Taiwanese boat of violating a summer fishing moratorium by using trawl nets in a prohibited area and nets with mesh sizes smaller than China’s minimum requirements, which allegedly damaged marine fisheries resources and the ecological environment.
The Chinese statement did not mention the status of the crew members.
China’s ruling Communist Party claims self-governing Taiwan as its territory despite never having controlled it and has vowed to unify with the island, by force if necessary. Beijing has increased pressure on Taipei since President Lai Ching-te, whom it labels a “dangerous separatist,” secured a historic third consecutive term for Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party in January.
Tensions remain high around Kinmen, a group of outlying islands controlled by Taiwan but located just a short distance from China’s shores. At a news conference on Wednesday, Hsieh Ching-chin, deputy director general of Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration, stated that the Taiwanese vessel was detained amid China’s annual summer fishing ban, implemented in May.
Two Taiwanese and three Indonesian crew members were detained while the boat operated 11.2 nautical miles from mainland China in its territorial waters, Hsieh said. The Taiwan coast guard demanded the immediate release of the boat and crew, urging China not to engage in political manipulation that undermines cross-strait relations.
“The Coast Guard Administration calls on China not to engage in political manipulation, which undermines cross-strait relations, and it should release the Tachinman 88 vessel and its crew immediately,” the Taiwanese statement read.
Since February, China’s coast guard has increased patrols around Kinmen and other outlying islands controlled by Taiwan. This followed an incident where two Chinese fishermen drowned while being chased by Taiwan’s coast guard, who accused them of trespassing.
In late February, Chinese coast guard officers intercepted and boarded a Taiwanese tourist boat for inspection, an unprecedented move that alarmed Taiwanese passengers.
Chen Yu-jen, a Taiwanese legislator representing Kinmen for the opposition Kuomintang party, said that since then, fishermen in the islands have been cautious not to cross into China’s territorial waters due to the heightened patrols.
“Both sides of the Taiwan Strait do not currently have a warm relationship, so we should be more careful about staying inside our own waters,” Chen told CNN on Wednesday. “In the past, the coast guard would usually expel fishing vessels that crossed the maritime border, but now it is strictly enforcing the law.”