BEIJING: China’s coast guard said on Sunday it will strengthen its law enforcement activities and carry out regular patrols around a small group of Taiwanese-controlled islands off the Chinese coast as tensions rise over the deaths of two Chinese nationals. Taiwan on Thursday defended the actions of its coast guard after two people on a Chinese speedboat, which got too close to a frontline Taiwanese island, died when their boat overturned while trying to flee a coast guard ship.Two others survived.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained in recent years about Chinese fishing boats and other vessels operating in Taiwan-controlled waters, especially around the Kinmen and Matsu islands which sit a short distance from China’s coast. China has condemned Taiwan’s actions and labelled the incident near Kinmen’s Beiding islet “wicked”.
China’s coast guard said it will strengthen its maritime law enforcement forces and carry out regular patrols and inspections in the waters around Kinmen and Xiamen, one of the Chinese cities Kinmen faces. This is to “further maintain the order of operations in the relevant waters and safeguard the safety of fishermen’s lives and property”, it added. Late on Saturday, China’s Taiwan affairs office said the deaths had caused “strong indignation” in China. It also said that there was no such thing as “restricted” waters.
