TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Eleven Chinese coast guard ships and three fishing boats entered Kinmen’s prohibited and restricted waters in two convoys on Thursday (May 9).
The Coast Guard detected the Chinese ships south of Kinmen’s waters at noon. At 3 pm, seven Chinese coast guard ships entered restricted waters approximately 7 km (4 NM) southwest of Kinmen, accompanied by three Chinese fishing boats suspected of conducting exercises with them.
The Coast Guard dispatched three patrol boats to monitor and broadcast warnings to the 10 Chinese ships.
At the same time, four Chinese coast guard ships entered the prohibited and restricted waters south of Kinmen. The Coast Guard deployed another three patrol boats to monitor the situation.
Shadowed by Coast Guard patrol boats, the Chinese ships exited Kinmen waters by 4:30 pm The Coast Guard said this was the fourth intrusion by Chinese coast guard ships into waters around Kinmen this month.
The Coast Guard emphasized that the southern waters of Kinmen have vital shipping lanes with heavy maritime traffic. It said the repeated high-speed formations of Chinese vessels have disrupted cross-strait peace and stability and endangered maritime safety, hindering peaceful exchanges between the two countries.
Tags: Chinese coast guard fishing ships intrude Taiwans waters Kinmen Taiwan News
