Mainland Chinese and Taiwanese coastguards in tense stand-off near Quemoy
- Four vessels entered restricted waters on Tuesday, remaining there for two hours, Taiwan’s coastguard says
The incident came after four coastguard ships from mainland China were patrolling in waters just 5 nautical miles from Quemoy, according to the Taiwanese coastguard.
It said the vessels entered the restricted waters at around 6am on Tuesday. Two vessels approached from the north of Beiding Islet, while the other two entered waters south of Fuxing Islet.
The Taiwanese coastguard sent three patrol boats to monitor the mainland Chinese vessels and issued radio warnings for them to move away. It said there was a stand-off for two hours until the mainland Chinese ships left the area at around 8am.
Taiwanese Defence Minister Wellington Koo said the mainland Chinese boats were attempting to challenge Taiwan’s boundary claims around Quemoy.
A defence outpost, the island is just 10km (6 miles) away from the mainland Chinese city of Xiamen.
In a statement, Taiwan’s coastguard said the actions of the mainland Chinese coastguard “do not contribute to maintaining the relationship between Quemoy and Xiamen, nor do they enhance regional stability”.