Taiwan monitors four China Coast Guard vessels around Kinmen

Taipei, June 25 (CNA) Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) monitored four China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels in restricted waters off the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Islands on Tuesday morning, the administration said.

The intrusion was reported to the CGA's Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch sometime after 5 a.m., which dispatched three patrol boats to keep tabs on the Chinese vessels and gather evidence until they left the area at 8 a.m., the branch said.

According to the branch, the four Chinese boats -- whose pennant numbers are 14609, 14603, 14513, and 14605 -- paired up and respectively entered the restricted area from east of Beiding Island and south of Fuxing Island for sorties that lasted about two hours.

The actions of the CCG does not maintain the relationship between Kinmen and Xiamen, nor does it advance regional stability, the CGA said.

However, in the afternoon the CCG claimed its actions were legal since it stepped up patrols in waters around Kinmen in June.

Referring to the intrusion as an effort to "further strengthen [China's] control of the waters," the CCG said via its official account in a WeChat message group that the move was aimed at ensuring residents' fishing rights as well as life and property security within China's territory, which it claimed "includes Taiwan."

The incident is viewed as a response to the deaths of two Chinese nationals on Feb. 14, when a Chinese speedboat pursued by CGA personnel for illegally entering Taiwanese waters capsized near the Kinmen Islands, resulting in all four crew members being thrown into the water, two of whom died.

Beijing has increased its activity in the area in the wake of the deaths, with a monthly average of around five vessels intruding into restricted waters around the Taiwan-controlled island.