TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China is allegedly hesitant to return two Taiwanese fishermen it recently rescued as it reportedly suspects at least one of them is a member of Taiwan's military.

On Sunday (March 17), a 25-year-old surnamed Hu (胡) and a 40-year-old surnamed Wu (吳) were rescued by the Chinese coast guard after they accidentally wandered into China's territorial waters due to heavy fog. China originally said it would return them to Taiwan by noon on Monday (March 18), but it reportedly found that one of the fishermen was an active duty soldier and is undecided on whether to release him, reported UDN.

According to standard practice, when China locates Taiwanese fishermen or crew members, they notify Taiwan's Chinese Search and Rescue Association to coordinate their retrieval at sea. Both the China Media Group's WeChat account "Watching the Taiwan Strait" and state-run media outlet CCTV reported on Monday morning that the Xiamen Maritime Search and Rescue Center said it expected to transfer the two fishermen back to Taiwanese authorities.

Initially, China's coast guard requested the family members or relevant units to contact a fishing vessel to pick up the two fishermen. However, later it claimed that the sea conditions were too rough and requested the Xiamen Maritime Search and Rescue Center and the Kinmen branch of the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) to transfer personnel at the midpoint of the restricted area in the sea.

The CGA arrived at noon on Monday, but the Chinese vessel carrying the fishermen never arrived. Around 6 p.m., plans to hand over the two men were reportedly changed due to the "sensitive identity" of Hu.

A source told UDN that it is quite uncommon for China to announce a transfer time but then not carry it out as scheduled. Such occurrences were rare in the past and could potentially escalate tensions between the two countries, the source said.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office said the Chinese coast guard provided the fishermen with hot water, food, and warm clothing and assigned personnel to accompany them. It said both men are currently okay and have called home to report they are safe.

It said, "Fujian Province will arrange for the return of the men and their boat to Kinmen as soon as possible."

There are concerns that this case may affect the previous negotiations on the speedboat capsizing incident which resulted in the deaths of two Chinese, possibly putting Taiwan's negotiating position at a disadvantage. However, a source familiar with the matter said, "each case should be handled separately, so it shouldn't have a significant impact."

In 2017, the Chinese government "mistakenly released" a fisherman surnamed Dong (董), who was later revealed to be a Taiwanese soldier. Since that incident, Chinese authorities have closely examined the identity of Taiwanese in similar situations.

In this case, UDN cited sources as saying when Chinese authorities investigated the identities of the two Taiwanese fishermen, they suspected that Hu was a member of Taiwan's military. This led them to change their handover plans and investigate whether they were involved in intelligence gathering.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said on Monday evening that humanitarian rescue in maritime emergencies is a universal value. The Kinmen County Government said it along with the CGA, is currently making every effort to assist in arranging the return of the two fishermen.

The MND, Kinmen Defense Command, and CGA have declined requests by UDN for comment on whether Hu is a soldier.