TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) on Tuesday (Oct. 27) posted a video of one of its vessels blasting a Chinese sand-dredging vessel with a water cannon.
As Chinese ships continue to pillage sand from the seabed around Taiwan's outer islands, the CGA recently adopted the new tactic of attempting to drive the offending vessels away with water cannons. On its Facebook page on Tuesday, the CGA announced that a few days ago, its radar systems detected five sand barges and two sand-dredging ships within the 6-kilometer restricted zone around Matsu Island.
The CGA stated that it was able to drive many of the Chinese ships away, with the exception of the sand-dredging ship. A patrol boat from the Matsu branch of the CGA then used a powerful water cannon to "spray it out of the boundary line."
In the video, a CGA patrol boat can be seen pouring water on a Chinese dredger as sirens blare and the captain admonishes the ship's skipper to exit Taiwanese territorial waters immediately, warning that "it will continue to use the water cannon to enforce the mandatory distance." The patrol boat identifies itself as PP10037 and announces "This is the first broadcast. You have already entered restricted territorial waters. You cannot remain in these waters, much less anchor. Please leave immediately."
Next, the video cuts to the 2,000-ton Xinbei (CG127), which has been dispatched to the "front lines" and waters around Matsu. According to the CGA, during the Xinbei's first day in action on Tuesday, it was already leading the team in driving out two Chinese fishing boats and two cargo ships. clearing Matsu's waters of illegal vessels.
The CGA stated that in Matsu alone, it has already impounded six sand-dredging vessels over the past year and collected NT$149.8 million through auctions and fines for the national treasury. The CGA pledged to intensify its sweeps of the area next month.
The message closed by warning that "If there are any monsters that dare to intrude and steal sand," the CGA will seize them and auction them off.
