Chinese coast guard ships were found again in “forbidden” waters near the Kinmen archipelago, Taiwan’s coast guard said on March 16, Taiwan News reported.
The day before, four Chinese coast guard vessels entered waters that Taiwan considers “prohibited” and does not allow the entry of foreign ships. Taiwanese coast guard ships pushed them beyond the “forbidden” waters.
Today, the same four ships re-entered the waters around Kinmen and were pushed back again by Taiwan Coast Guard ships. In both cases, the Chinese ships remained in waters that Taiwan considers its own for about an hour.
Let us remember that on February 14, an incident occurred between Chinese fishermen and the Taiwanese coast guard. The coast guard vessel was attempting to dislodge the high-speed Chinese fishing boat from the waters around the Kinmen archipelago, which Taiwan considers “off-limits” and does not allow foreign vessels to enter “restricted traffic” waters without permission. “.
During the chase, the boat carrying the Chinese fishermen capsized, trapping four people in the water. They were pulled out of the water and taken to the hospital. However, two fishermen died there.
China called on the island’s authorities to investigate the incident, release the detained fishermen and return their boat. In response, Taiwanese authorities called on China to crack down on fishing violations by Chinese fishermen. They fully justified the actions of their coast guard and claimed that coast guard officers across the Taiwan Strait would have done the same.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that the Taiwan Strait belongs to a single and indivisible China and that the island also belongs to it. Since ancient times, fishermen from both sides of the strait have fished in the strait’s traditional fishing areas.
In the strait there have never been “prohibited” zones or “restricted traffic” waters, he emphasized. China will always show goodwill towards its compatriots, but will not allow Taiwanese authorities to neglect the lives and property rights of Chinese fishermen, Zhu Fenglian concluded.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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