EXPLAINER/A look at past seizures of trespassing fishing vessels between Taiwan, China

Taipei, July 3 (CNA) In a rare but not unprecedented move, Chinese Coast Guard officials on Tuesday boarded and seized the Taiwanese fishing vessel Da Jin Man No.88 as it was fishing at a "common fishing ground" between Taiwan and China, according to Taiwan's Fisheries Agency.

Despite the area being designated a "common fishing ground" for Chinese and Taiwanese fishing vessels by the agency, it is located within Chinese territorial waters, though officials told CNA that Taiwanese fishing vessels were not previously prohibited from working there due to a "tacit agreement" between the two sides.

Tuesday's incident marked the fourth of its kind in 21 years, according to Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA). Here is a list of incidents involving Taiwanese fishing vessels boarded and held by Chinese authorities that were were later released.

July 11, 2003

Five Penghu-registered fishing vessels were seized by China Fishery Law Enforcement vessels at 103 nautical miles southwest of Penghu County's Cimei Township.

The five ships were released after paying a fine, and returned to Penghu on July 13 that year.

July 24, 2005

Six Penghu-registered fishing vessels were seized by China Fishery Law Enforcement vessels at 89 nautical miles southwest of Penghu County's Cimei Township.

The six ships were released after paying a fine, and returned to Penghu on July 26 that year.

July 28, 2007

Six Penghu-registered fishing vessels were seized by China Fishery Law Enforcement vessels at 44 nautical miles west of Penghu County's Hua Islet.

In all four instances above, Taiwanese fishing vessels were seized for violating China's closed season for fishing.

In the 2007 incident, the Taiwanese ships were escorted back into Taiwan-controlled waters by CGA vessels following on-site negotiations between the CGA and its Chinese counterpart.

China Fisheries Law Enforcement Command and China Marine Surveillance were China's maritime law enforcement units, but have since been merged into a unified China Coast Guard in a 2013 reorganization.

Tuesday's incident was the second this year involving a Taiwan-registered vessel being boarded by the Chinese coast guard.

On Feb. 19, the Sunrise cruise ship was boarded by China Coast Guard personnel in Taiwan-controlled restricted waters off outlying Kinmen County. It was largely seen as retaliation for the fatal capsizing of an unnamed and unregistered speedboat in "restricted waters" off Kinmen, which resulted in the death of two Chinese crew members.

In contrast, Taiwan's Coast Guard has seized 467 Chinese fishing vessels illegally operating in Taiwan-controlled fishing sites from 2016 to April 2024, according to statistics released by the CGA.

Due to the proximity between Kinmen County and Xiamen, China's territorial waters encompass all of Kinmen, leaving Taiwan with a compromise measure whereby it demarcates "prohibited" and "restricted" waters around the Kinmen Islands that extend 1,500 meters to 10,000 meters from the shores of the archipelago.

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