China to regularly patrol near Taiwan islands after deadly incident
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China Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yu has announced that regular law enforcement patrols will now take place in the waters surrounding the Kinmen Islands, which are administered by Taiwan.
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Chinese Coast Guard vessel navigates South China Sea. (AFP, APAN Coast Guard)
China Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yu announced, on Sunday, that regular law enforcement patrols will be conducted in the waters near the Kinmen Islands, administered by Taiwan, following a recent incident involving fishermen in the area.
On February 14, a fishing boat from the southern Chinese province of Fujian was forced to leave the waters near Kinmen, resulting in all four crew members being thrown into the sea. The Taiwanese coast guard rescued all the fishermen, who were subsequently hospitalized. Unfortunately, two of them succumbed to their injuries. The remaining two fishermen are in stable condition and are staying on Kinmen as authorities continue to investigate the incident.
The Coast Guard in Fujian province plans to enhance maritime law enforcement and carry out routine patrols to "safeguard order in the pertinent maritime regions and guarantee the safety of fishing crews' lives and property," as stated by Gan on WeChat.
The Kinmen Islands, situated approximately 6.2 miles east of Xiamen in China's Fujian Province, are under the administration of Taiwan.
Since 1949, Taiwan has been self-governed apart from mainland China. Beijing sees Taiwan as a part of its territory, whereas Taiwan, with its own elected government, asserts its autonomy without formally declaring independence. Beijing opposes foreign nations establishing official ties with Taipei and asserts indisputable Chinese sovereignty over the island.
Foreign forces act, China reacts
The South China Sea dispute has been ongoing for several years, with multiple countries, namely China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan, all fighting for sovereignty in the maritime region.
60 percent of maritime trade passes through Asia, with the South China Sea carrying an estimated one-third of global shipping. Most recently, US and Western-affiliated naval ships have been crossing the area as part of the ongoing provocations against China.
Beijing had always wanted to formally settle the dispute with the countries involved, but some countries sought to resort to third parties to do so. For instance, in early 2013, the Philippines initiated the South China Sea arbitration against China at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague - a Western-affiliated organ of the UN.
In recent months, since the US began to further stir up geopolitical tensions in the region, China has begun to adopt a more defensive stance by building artificial islands and deploying coast guard and maritime patrols.
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