Control Yuan faults Coast Guard over fatal Kinmen speedboat incident

Taipei, Nov. 11 (CNA) The Control Yuan has ordered the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) to take corrective actions over its failure to record and promptly report a deadly chase between a Chinese speedboat and a CGA vessel in Kinmen earlier this year.

In a press release issued Monday, the government watchdog noted that the Coast Guard's failure to record the chase hampered investigators and fueled controversy over who bore legal responsibility for the incident.

The Control Yuan's Committee on Domestic and Ethnic Affairs approved the corrective measures on Nov. 7.

Background

The Kinmen speedboat incident occurred on Feb. 14 when Taiwan's Coast Guard pursued a Chinese vessel that entered prohibited waters off the coast of Kinmen.

According to the Coast Guard, the unnamed and unregistered Chinese boat with four people on board refused a request to board and inspect it, and later fled, setting off a high-speed chase that ended when the vessel made a sudden turn.

The speedboat collided with the CGA patrol vessel and capsized in waters near Kinmen while being pursued, leading to the deaths of two Chinese crew members.

The other two Chinese nationals who survived the collision returned to China on Feb. 20, while the bodies of the deceased crew and the speedboat remained in Kinmen for further investigation.

The incident raised tensions around Kinmen, which is located less than 10 kilometers off the coast of the Chinese city of Xiamen.

Failures

In its statement Monday, the Control Yuan said the coastal multi-purpose boat involved in the chase had been patrolling alone, and not in a flotilla led by a larger vessel, as required by Coast Guard regulations.

After encountering the Chinese speedboat, the Coast Guard also violated several of its operational guidelines by failing to record and promptly report the interaction, the statement said.

An investigation into the failure found that the Coast Guard boat involved in the chase had originally been equipped with four video cameras.

In 2022, however, the cameras were removed amid a Cabinet campaign to phase out the use of Chinese-made products, and replacements were never provided, the Control Yuan said.

Although the vessel had a handheld video camera on board, it could not feasibly be operated by the crew during a high-speed sea chase, the statement said.

The Control Yuan said the patrol boat's crew had also failed to promptly report the chase on its wireless communication device.

While this did constitute a lapse, it said, the Coast Guard's procedures for reporting such incidents are "scattered" across multiple sets of guidelines, and ought to be reviewed.

The Control Yuan noted that Kinmen prosecutors had completed their investigation into the incident on Aug. 15, and declined to press charges.

Still, due to the Coast Guard's operation on the front lines of a "grey-zone conflict," it should be stringent about following internal guidelines and ensuring the equipment and discipline of its personnel, both to reduce the risk of controversy and to protect national security, the Control Yuan said.