China seizes Taiwanese fishing boat with five, including three Indonesians, onboard
Taiwanese coast guard
Hours after China seized a Taiwanese fishing boat carrying five people, the self-ruled island nation called upon Beijing to release the fishing vessel that was reportedly held by the Chinese side near Taiwanese outlying islands on Tuesday (July 2). The seized vessel row coincided with a Taiwanese claim that aChinese military drone hovered near an airport on a remote island.
The Chinese coast guard has increased patrols around Taiwan's Kinmen islands alongside rampant violation of Taiwan's Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
The Kinmen islands are administered by Taipei but are located just five kilometres (three miles) from the Chinese mainland.
Taiwan's coast guard said it received a report at 08:14 pm (1214 GMT) on Tuesday from the owner of a fishing boat that two Chinese coast guard vessels had intercepted it around 23.7 nautical miles (44 kilometres) from Kinmen's Liaoluo port.
It dispatched two patrol vessels "to try to rescue" the fishing boat, along with a third for assistance, but one was "blocked by" Chinese coast guard ships, Taiwan's coast guard said in a statement late Tuesday.
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"To avoid escalating the conflict, we have decided to stop the chase," the coast guard said, adding the fishing boat was taken to China's Weitou port.
Taiwan's boat seized: About people onboard the boat
According to Taiwan's coast guard officials, there were two Taiwanese and three Indonesians onthe boat.
A Chinese coast guard spokesman said a Taiwanese fishing boat suspected of illegal fishing off the coast of Quanzhou was inspected and detained on Tuesday.
"The fishing vessel has violated the regulation of the seasonal fishing ban, and illegally trawled... within the prohibited fishing area," a Chinese coast guard spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Chinese coast guard had warned and expelled "relevant" Taiwanese vessels that "attempted to interfere with" its law enforcement operation at the time, he added.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's deputy coast guard chief Hsieh Ching-chin said the boat was seized within China's territorial waters, in an area where Beijing has declared a seasonal fishing ban between May 1 to August 15.
"We hope that the Chinese side will tell us as soon as possible the reason of the inspection," he said.
"We will actively request the Chinese side to release the boat and its crew as soon as possible through various channels".
China claims self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and under its top leader Xi Jinping, it has not renounced the use of force to bring the island under control.
(With inputs from agencies)