Taiwan rejects China's criticisms following deadly Kinmen boat chase

Taipei, Feb. 18 (CNA) Taiwan will continue to enforce the law in waters it controls, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Sunday as it rejected Beijing's ongoing criticism of the Taiwanese Coast Guard's handling of a case near Kinmen that left two Chinese fishermen dead.

The MAC, Taiwan's top government agency in charge of cross-Taiwan Strait affairs, said in a statement that the government will continue "to enforce the law" in waters it controls based on the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.

Under the law, Taiwanese authorities may take any defensive action necessary if a Chinese vessel enters "restricted" or "prohibited" waters controlled by Taiwan, the MAC said.

The MAC was justifying the Taiwan Coast Guard's chase of a Chinese speedboat that trespassed within 1.1 nautical miles of the eastern coast of the Island of Kinmen on Feb. 14, which resulted in the capsizing of the boat.

All four men on the boat fell overboard and were picked up by the Coast Guard. Two of them were taken to the hospital but were pronounced dead after efforts to resuscitate them failed.

Later that day, Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮), a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), issued a statement that strongly condemned Taiwan over the death of the two Chinese nationals.

On Feb. 15, the MAC responded by calling the incident regrettable, but said an investigation indicated that Taiwanese officers had acted lawfully, and it urged China to take effective actions to restrict illegal activities by its nationals in Taiwan's waters.

The TAO on Saturday, however, denied the concept of "prohibited or restricted areas," arguing that fishermen from both sides of the strait have traditionally operated in the waters around Xiamen and Kinmen, which are separated by a distance of less than 10 kilometers.

Taiwan should release both the boat and the two Chinese nationals as soon as possible, the TAO said, adding that "China reserves the right to take further measures, and Taiwan will bear all consequences."

Earlier Sunday, China's Coast Guard further announced that it will "enhance its maritime law enforcement capabilities and increase regular patrols in the waters around Xiamen and Kinmen."

At present, the prohibited zone around the main islands of Kinmen and Little Kinmen extends about halfway to the Chinese coast to the north and northeast, up to about four kilometers to the east, and about eight kilometers to the south.

The Chinese boat was detected within the prohibited area east of Kinmen, and sped away after it refused the Taiwan Coast Guard's request to board the ship.

Following Beijing's latest move, the Kinmen County Government, the Kinmen Fishermen's Association and opposition Kuomintang lawmaker Jessica Chen (陳玉珍), who represents Kinmen, all expressed concern and urged local fishermen to exercise caution while operating at sea.

Chen also called on the central government to authorize the local governments in the Kinmen and Matsu islands to engage in direct negotiations with China on economic issues, such as fishing rights, to avoid misunderstandings.