TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) on Tuesday (Feb. 20) said that Taiwanese vessels should not stop for Chinese coast guard ships following an incident involving a Taiwanese sightseeing boat.

On Monday (Feb. 19), a Taiwanese tour boat in Kinmen, the "King Xia," that strayed near Chinese territorial waters was intercepted by a Chinese Coast guard ship and boarded by Chinese personnel. In response, Kuan on Tuesday said the incident was regrettable and stressed that Taiwanese vessels need not stop for Chinese coast guard ships and should instead contact the OAC for assistance.

Before a Legislative Yuan session on Tuesday morning, Kuan said King Xia was on a two-hour sightseeing trip in the waters around Kinmen. Kuan said Chinese tour ships conduct similar trips in the area and Taiwan does not consider these journeys to be illegal activities.

If a tour boat from China crosses into Taiwanese waters, Kuang said the CGA would recognize it as a non-violating and unintentional entry, and they would only broadcast a request for it to leave. Kuan said that the boarding of the Taiwanese vessel by the Chinese coast guard "caused people to panic, and was not in line with people's interests."

Kuan said that although King Xia had come relatively close to China's territorial waters, based on the "peaceful situation in the strait and goodwill between the two sides," Kuan expressed regret over the incident.

The minister said the standard operating procedure for inspecting Taiwanese vessels is clear, even if forcefully expelled from any sea area, as long as a fishing boat notifies the OAC, assistance will be provided. According to Kuan, the CGA will position ships between the foreign vessel and the Taiwanese vessel, hoping to prevent the foreign ship from conducting inspections.

Kuan pledged that her agency would educate Taiwanese ship captains not to stop if asked for inspection by Chinese coast guard ships and to instead immediately inform the OAC.

During the Monday incident, Kuan said that the CGA promptly responded upon seeing the situation over radar. Kuan said that the CGA will assist whenever a vessel is spotted over radar, surveillance, and lookout systems, even if the vessel has not notified them.

She also emphasized that this is not meant as a "challenge," but rather as an effort to protect all people at sea, regardless of their nationality.