TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – For the first time, a Chinese coast guard ship accompanied a research vessel to enter restricted waters near the Taiwan-controlled island of Dongsha, the Coast Guard Administration said Saturday.
The intrusion showed that China’s claims of wanting peace were a sham, according to the Coast Guard. When Taiwan forced the Chinese ships to leave the area, the Chinese crew said Taiwan’s future was unification, per CNA.
Taiwan responded by saying the ships’ behavior proved that China’s peace claims were false. China’s actions were not supported by the international community, and the crew should return to China and seek democracy instead, the Taiwan Coast Guard told the crew of the Chinese research ship.
The incident happened Friday morning, the administration said. The patrol vessel that chased the Chinese ships out of the restricted area was later replaced by the frigate Changhua.
At 6:28 a.m. Saturday, the Coast Guard again found a Chinese research vessel intruding into a restricted area 60.5 kilometers southeast of Dongsha. The frigate Kaohsiung took part in the effort to force the Chinese vessel to leave, the administration said.
Similar incidents also occurred on May 5 about 53 km southeast of Taiwan’s southernmost tip at Eluanbi and on May 7 east of Hualien, CNA reported. The Coast Guard said it was determined to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty against any challenge and had the capability to maintain peace.
