TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said it was unable to record video evidence of a Chinese fishing boat that capsized killing two in the waters off the Kinmen Islands – an incident that injected fresh life into longstanding tensions over the territory.

The deaths occurred on Feb. 14 after CGA engaged a Chinese fishing boat in a high-speed chase in the waters around the Taiwan-controlled islands that sit just 3 kilometers off China’s coast. China condemned Taiwan’s actions, and CGA apologized, following which a Chinese coast guard vessel boarded a Taiwanese boat on Monday (Feb. 19), further increasing tensions.

CGA issued a statement on Tuesday evening and said that due to the nature of the Feb. 14 incident and the vessel involved, video of the pursuit that preceded the capsizing deaths was not taken. The statement acknowledged that the inability of the Coast Guard to present “key facts” had aroused suspicions from the victim’s family members and the public.

However, it said that the pursuit only lasted five minutes, and this meant that the handheld recording devices usually used by crew members to record such events were not deployed. CGA said that the lack of evidence did not distort the facts of what happened.

Following the incident, China said it would begin regular patrols around Kinmen, which is home to a Taiwan military garrison, while the waters surrounding are patrolled by CGA. In response to Monday's incident, Taiwan said that the incident had “harmed our people’s feelings and triggered panic.”

China has never acknowledged any Taiwan-imposed restrictions on fishing activities around Kinmen or its waters.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department weighed in on the matter, also on Tuesday, urging both sides to avoid unilateral changes to the status quo. “We continue to urge restraint,” department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.