TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s coast guard said late on Tuesday that Chinese authorities had boarded and seized a Taiwanese fishing boat operating off the Chinese coast near an island controlled by Taiwan, escalating tensions further.
China considers democratically ruled Taiwan its own territory and has stepped up pressure on Taipei since President Lai Ching-te took office in May, whom Beijing denounces as a “separatist.”
Taiwan’s coast guard said the fishing boat was boarded and seized by two China Marine Administration vessels while fishing on Tuesday night near the Taiwanese island of Kinmen, which borders the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou.
Taiwan sent its own coast guard vessels to help and broadcast a warning urging China to release the fishing boat, but the Chinese vessels responded with broadcasts not to interfere, Taiwan’s coast guard said in a statement.
The Taiwanese vessel then retreated to avoid a collision and the Taiwanese fishing boat was taken to a Chinese port, it added.
A senior Taiwanese official briefed on the situation told Reuters that Taiwanese fishing boats had entered and operated in Chinese waters during a Chinese fishing ban, adding that Taiwan was in contact with China to urge the fishermen to be released as soon as possible.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said it was not the first time a Taiwanese fishing boat had been seized by Chinese authorities after operating in Chinese waters.
The China Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chinese coast guard and coast guard vessels have been operating regularly around Kinmen since February after two Chinese fishermen were killed while trying to flee from Taiwan’s coast guard.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Li; Editing by Josie Kao)
