Military

Taiwan Expels Chinese Fishing Boat in South China Sea

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By Andy Hsueh/Alan Lu

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Taiwan’s Coast Guard says it expelled a Chinese fishing boat found trespassing near Pratas Island. Officials described the move as part of stepped-up efforts to curb illegal activity at sea and counter China’s gray-zone tactics.

Taiwan Expels Chinese Fishing Boat Near Pratas Island

 

REPORTER:  

Taiwan’s Coast Guard says it has expelled a Chinese fishing boat caught trespassing near Pratas Island. Officials say it’s part of increased efforts to crack down on illegal activity at sea, and push back against China’s gray-zone tactics.

 

REPORTER:  

Taiwan seizes a Chinese fishing boat. On Friday night, the country’s coast guard detected a Chinese fishing vessel entering restricted waters around Pratas Island, also known as Dongsha Island, in the north of the South China Sea. The coast guard seized the boat, which had three people onboard, and drove the fishing vessel out. Earlier in the day, the coast guard was also sent to drive out a Chinese coast guard ship from the same waters.

 

Chiu Tai-feng (CHIEF SECRETARY, DONGSHA BRANCH, TAIWAN COAST GUARD):  

The Coast Guard strongly urges China to restrain its vessels from illegally entering Pratas waters. We will continue to deploy large ships to patrol and guard the area, working together with the Dongsha Command to maintain round-the-clock protection of Pratas waters. We will crack down on Chinese fishing boats that cross the boundary and firmly defend national sovereignty and maritime rights.

 

REPORTER:  

Pratas island, a contested atoll in the South China Sea controlled by Taiwan but claimed by China, has long been a flashpoint in regional disputes. And Beijing is stepping up its claims to the area. On Tuesday it announced plans to establish a nature reserve on the Scarborough Shoal, another disputed site in the South China Sea.

 

This latest confrontation comes as Taiwan boosts investment in its coast guard, building home-grown ships and drones and rolling out more advanced coastal monitoring systems.

 

REPORTER:  

The administration earlier this week proposed a 272 million US dollar budget for new vessels designed to withstand strong winds, heavy seas and collisions. Analysts say these are efforts to counter intensifying gray-zone threats from China.

 

Su Tzu-yun (DEFENSE ANALYST, INDSR):  

China has about 1,000 to 1,500 coast guard vessels. Among them, around 150 to 200 are large vessels over 1,000 tons. So for Taiwan’s maritime defense it is very necessary to expand the Coast Guard’s fleet of large vessels.

 

REPORTER:  

And with tensions still simmering around Pratas, the Taiwan Strait hasn’t been quiet either. The US confirmed Sunday that one of its destroyers, joined by a British frigate, sailed through the Strait on Friday—a move Beijing strongly protested, while Washington defended it as an exercise of “freedom of navigation.” Their passage came the same day China’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, transited those waters.

 

Andy Hsueh and Alan Lu for TaiwanPlus.