Border tension escalation: Taiwanese authorities push back Chinese vessels
According to Reuters Agency, the Chinese Coast Guard vessels ventured into the prohibited or restricted waters close to the Taiwanese islands of Kinmen. This information was relayed by the Taiwanese government. After receiving a warning from Taiwan's Coast Guard, the Chinese vessels withdrew.
7:56 AM EST, February 27, 2024
Kuan Bi-ling, who leads the Taiwanese Council for Ocean Assessments and supervises the local Coast Guard, commented that shortly after Taiwan ordered them to withdraw, the Chinese left the area. "The political significance is high, which is a form of sovereignty declaration," remarked the politician on Tuesday.
This month, Taiwan's Kinmen archipelago has seen regular patrol activity by the Chinese Coast Guard. This has reportedly increased following the death of two Chinese citizens, who died trying to evade the Taiwanese Coast Guard after their boat entered a prohibited area. The Kinmen archipelago is situated not far from the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou, as reported by Reuters.
Taiwan's Ministry of Defence last week announced that they have no plans to increase their force strength on the islands bordering China. To mitigate any escalation of tensions, the head of the ministry assured the public that Taipei aims to avoid any conflict. "We don't want any fighting conditions to occur," Taiwan's Minister of Defense, Chiu Kuo-cheng, stated.
Source: Reuters Agency
