Taiwan and mainland China coastguards engage in close Dongsha Island encounter
Vessels come within a nautical mile of each other in a day-long stand-off in the northern South China Sea
According to Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration, the confrontation began on Saturday afternoon when its Dongsha command detected the mainland vessel 3102 sailing southward towards the island group, which is administered by Taiwan but also claimed by Beijing.
“The Chinese vessel was first spotted around 2.50pm on August 2, approximately 28.1 nautical miles northwest of Dongsha Island,” the administration said on Monday. “Based on its trajectory and speed, our Dongsha command judged that the vessel was on course to enter our waters.”
Repeated radio broadcasts ordering the vessel to turn away were ignored, so Taiwan sent the 1,000-tonne Hsun Hu No 8 armed patrol ship to shadow the mainland boat. By around 5.34pm, the mainland vessel had reached a position just 10.3 nautical miles southwest of Dongsha Island.
Roughly an hour later, the mainland vessel reactivated its AIS and abruptly changed course, heading north. “At one point during the stand-off, the two ships were separated by just one nautical mile,” the agency noted.
The mainland vessel withdrew at around 3.45pm on Sunday, sailing north-northwest at nine knots from a position about 27.9 nautical miles north of Dongsha Island.