Taiwan CGA again expels China coast guard boats near Kinmen

Taipei, March 16 (CNA) Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) on Saturday drove off another four Chinese Coast Guard patrol vessels that had entered the prohibited waters off Kinmen Island, which is controlled by Taiwan, recording the second such incident in less than 24 hours.

Taiwanese coast guard patrol vessels shadowed the Chinese ships, after they were detected at 8:54 a.m., and broadcast warnings until they left Kinmen's prohibited and restricted waters at 10:06 a.m., according to a brief CGA statement.

The Chinese Coast Guard vessels were driven off less than 24 hours after four others were spotted in waters about 3 nautical miles south of Kinmen Island on Friday and were also expelled by Taiwan's Coast Guard.

In a statement issued Friday, the China Coast Guard said the ships were "legally" patrolling waters off Kinmen.

The restricted and prohibited waters in the area are boundaries that were set by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense in 1992.

According to the CGA, the term "prohibited waters" refers to territorial waters, while "restricted waters" refers to a contiguous zone, an area designated by states to bolster their law enforcement capacity in waters just outside their territorial seas.

At present, the prohibited zone around the main islands of Kinmen and Little Kinmen extends eastward about 4 kilometers, southward about 8 kilometers, and north and northeast about halfway to the coast of China.