China has announced the seizure of a Taiwanese boat with five crew members for allegedly fishing illegally in its territorial waters on Tuesday night. Taiwan has requested the release of the vessel and its crew—two Taiwanese and three Indonesians—currently held at Weitou port in the southeast. Taiwanese officials confirmed to the TDTP that the boat was seized within China’s territorial waters, approximately 2.8 nautical miles (5.1 km) off its coast, and was operating during China’s annual summer fishing ban from May to August.
Liu Dejun, a spokesperson for the China Coast Guard, stated, “The fishing vessel violated the fishing moratorium regulations and trawled illegally within the prohibited area.” He also accused the boat of using improper fishing gear and “damaging marine fishery resources.” Taiwan has yet to respond to these allegations.
Such incidents are common in the contested 110-mile strait separating China and Taiwan. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own and considers the strait its exclusive economic zone, a claim not recognized by other countries navigating these waters, such as Japan and the United States. The Chinese military has increased pressure on Taiwan in recent years.
Since 2003, Chinese authorities have seized and detained 17 Taiwan-registered vessels for fishing during the summer ban, according to Taipei’s data. This year alone, Taiwan has detained five such boats from China. Taiwanese authorities reported that they were alerted by the captain at 20:04 local time (12:04 GMT) on Tuesday that officers from two Chinese coast guard vessels had boarded and seized the fishing boat.
A brief but tense standoff ensued as three Taiwanese coast guard ships were dispatched to rescue the boat. However, they refrained from pursuing the Chinese vessels due to the approach of four additional Chinese coast guard ships, to avoid escalating tensions. China’s coast guard reported that both sides used loudspeakers: the Taiwanese demanded the release of the fishing boat, while the Chinese instructed the Taiwanese not to interfere.