Mainland China’s coastguard ships no threat if they stay clear of land forces, Taiwan military says

Name: Taiwan drives away mainland Chinese coastguard in series of tense exchanges
Uploaded: 2024-02-27T12:30:22.000Z
Duration: 1 min 45 s
Description: Taiwan drives away mainland Chinese coastguard in series of tense exchanges

Island’s defence chief Chiu Kuo-cheng made the comments as concerns grow that rising cross-strait tensions could escalate

Mainland vessels are patrolling waters around Taiwan-controlled defence outpost after two mainland fishermen died in waters off Quemoy

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Ahead of a legislature meeting, Taiwanese Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told media that mainland China’s coastguard boats will not be deemed a threat as long as they keep a distance from island’s land forces. Photo: AFP

Lawrence Chungin Taipei

Published: 8:30pm, 27 Feb 2024

Taiwan’s military will not consider the presence of mainland Chinese coastguard vessels in its restricted waters a threat, the island’s defence minister said on Tuesday, as he sought to ease rising cross-strait tensions that could escalate into a potential conflict.

“As long as the [mainland coastguard vessels] do not come close to our land forces, we do not see them as a threat,” Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters ahead of a legislature meeting in Taipei.

01:45

Taiwan drives away mainland Chinese coastguard in series of tense exchanges

Chiu was addressing concerns about recent dispatches of mainland vessels to patrol waters around the Taiwan-controlled defence outpost of Quemoy, also known as Kinmen.

The vessels were detected after two mainland fishermen died in waters off Quemoy. The four crew members on board a fishing speedboat fell overboard as they were pursued by a coastguard vessel on February 14. Two of the men were pulled from the water alive.

Chiu said the island’s coastguard had already explained its standard operating procedures on how to deal with such cases. “They would handle the matter accordingly and there is no need for us to make an additional explanation,” he said.

Last week, Chiu told reporters the military would not “directly intervene” as the island’s coastguard was doing its job. His ministry also said it had no plans to bolster its forces on the islands near the mainland, which include the Matsu archipelago up the coast from Quemoy.

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Mainland China’s coastguard ships no threat if they stay clear of land forces, Taiwan military says

Island’s defence chief Chiu Kuo-cheng made the comments as concerns grow that rising cross-strait tensions could escalate Mainland vessels are patrolling waters around Taiwan-controlled defence outpost after two mainland fishermen died in waters off Quemoy

Island’s defence chief Chiu Kuo-cheng made the comments as concerns grow that rising cross-strait tensions could escalate

Mainland vessels are patrolling waters around Taiwan-controlled defence outpost after two mainland fishermen died in waters off Quemoy