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2024 Kinmen Chinese motorboat capsizing incident

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2024 Kinmen Chinese motorboat capsizing incident
The Chinese motorboat seen from the Coast Guard carrier
DateFebruary 14, 2024 (2024-02-14)
Location0.5 nmi east of Beiding Island, Kinmen, Fuchien Province, ROC
CauseCollision between a motorboat from Quanzhou, PRC and a Taiwanese Coast Guard vessel inside the restricted waters of Kinmen[note 1]
Participants Republic of China
Deaths2

The 2024 Kinmen Chinese motorboat capsizing incident,[a] also called the 2/14 Kinmen Incident, took place on 14 February 2024, when a boat of the 9th Brigade of the Taiwanese Coast Guard Administration (CGA) collided with a Chinese motorboat in the waters of Kinmen, Fuchien Province, Taiwan (ROC). All four crew members of the Chinese motorboat were thrown into the water, two of whom later died.

Event

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The 9th Brigade of the Coast Guard Administration of Taiwan (CGA) collided with a Chinese motorboat on 14 February 2024.[4] Both Taiwan's CGA and the Mainland Affairs Council stated that the boat was unmarked and unregistered.[5][6] All four crew members of the Chinese motorboat were thrown into the water, two of whom later died.[7][8]

The Taiwan Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first stated that the Fujian motorboat capsized due to refusing inspection and "zigzagging", without mentioning a collision.[9]

However, CGA later changed its statement on 20 February, stating that there were multiple "contacts" between the two vessels during the high-speed interception. Mainland Chinese crew members who returned to Fujian also confirmed that the coast guard's speedboat directly collided with the fishing boat.[10][11]

Aftermath

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The two surviving crew members were detained in Kinmen,[3][12] and subsequently deported.[13][14] The incident led to increased tensions between China and Taiwan, as China disputed the CGA's justification for the chase and the concept of restricted waters.[3][15][16] Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council reiterated that the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area permitted Taiwanese authorities to take any defensive action necessary if a Chinese vessel enters any restricted or prohibited waters.[17]

The China Coast Guard increased patrols in the area following the incident.[3][18] On 19 February, China Coast Guard officials boarded a Taiwanese cruise ship near Kinmen for half an hour, which drew criticism from Taiwanese authorities.[19][20][15]

At the end of February 2024, a conspiracy theory was discussed on Twitter that one of the survivors of the capsizing incident was not an ordinary fisherman, but a first-class sergeant in the Navy Submarine Force of the South Sea Fleet of the PLA named Chen Zujun (陳祖軍).[21]

Discussions about the incident were delayed due to the effects of Typhoon Gaemi.[22] An agreement was reached in late July 2024,[23] in which the remains of the fatalities were to be repatriated and compensation given to families of the victims. On 30 July, CGA commander Chang Chung-lung (張忠龍) apologised to the victims' families "for the suffering [they have] endured" and for failing to record evidence "in this case".[24]

The captain and helmsman of the CGA vessel were investigated by the Kinmen District Prosecutors' Office, which declined to indict the pair.[25]

Reactions

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Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, compared the Chinese denial of restricted and prohibited waters to previous statements rejecting the tacitly understood Davis line of the Taiwan Strait. Yu Tsung-chi (余宗基), the former dean of Fu Hsing Kang College of the National Defense University, observed that rejection of restricted and prohibited waters by China showed a lack of respect toward Taiwan, and also argued that previous seizures or attempts to drive away Chinese vessels could not have happened if both sides did not understand the concept of restricted and prohibited waters.[26] Taiwanese premier Chen Chien-jen ugred both Taiwan and China to approach the waters around Kinmen and Xiamen with rationality and equality in mind.[27] United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan commented that the US was "against any kind of action, by any party, that undermines [...] peace and stability" across the Taiwan Strait. Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the United States Department of State, stated that the United States was closely monitoring Chinese actions, and "urge[d] restraint and no unilateral change to the status quo" in the Strait.[28]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Chinese: 2024年金門近海快艇翻覆事故
  1. ^ The Restricted waters of Kinmen are the restricted or prohibited waters [zh] zone drawn by the Taiwanese government,[1] which the PRC has never recognized the legitimacy of.[2][3]

References

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  1. ^ Mazzetta, Matthew. "Q&A/Taiwan and China's dispute over the waters around Kinmen". Central News Agency. Retrieved 30 July 2024. When were the "prohibited waters" (禁止水域) and "restricted waters" (限制水域) around Kinmen established? The boundaries were set by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense in 1992. Although Beijing does not recognize Taiwan's territorial claims (since it claims Taiwan as its own territory), the MAC argues that China has tacitly abided by the boundaries, such that denying them now constitutes a changing of the status quo. What do the terms "prohibited waters" and "restricted waters" mean? According to Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration, the term "prohibited waters" refers to territorial waters, which extend 12 nautical miles around Taiwan proper, and varying distances around Taiwan's outlying islands. "Restricted waters" refers to a contiguous zone, which states use to bolster their law enforcement capacity in the area just outside their territorial seas. This contiguous zone extends 24 nautical miles around Taiwan proper, and varying distances around Taiwan's outlying islands. Taiwan authorizes its Coast Guard to search and seize foreign vessels entering the country's prohibited waters. Under existing protocols, the Coast Guard is authorized to search and seize foreign boats that continue to operate in Taiwan's restricted waters after being warned twice to leave the area. Where are the current boundaries around 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 4 kilometers to the east, and about 8 kilometers to the south. By contrast, in the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands -- which are slightly farther off China's coast than Kinmen -- the prohibited and restricted zones extend 4 km and 6 km, respectively, around the archipelago.
  2. ^ "中国渔船在金门海域翻覆酿2死事件后 国台办：两岸不存在"禁止、限制水域"". VOA Chinese (in Chinese). 18 February 2024. Archived from the original on 18 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Taiwan Affairs Office (17 February 2024). "国台办：根本不存在所谓"禁止、限制水域"". 中共中央台湾工作办公室、国务院台湾事务办公室 (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on 19 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  4. ^ 戴志揚 (16 February 2024). "陸「三無快艇」翻覆2死！橫行金馬黑歷史曝光 漁民要海巡硬起來". China Times. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  5. ^ Blanchard, Ben (17 February 2024). Gopalakris, Raju (ed.). "China to send coast guard ships as tensions rise over Taiwanese islands". Reuters. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  6. ^ Deng, Shawn; Chang, Wayne (14 February 2024). "Two Chinese fishermen drown during pursuit by Taiwan coast guard". CNN.com. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  7. ^ Chang, Yi-lian; Chen, Christie (14 February 2024). "2 dead after Chinese speedboat capsizes in Kinmen waters". Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  8. ^ Wang, Flor; Lee, Ya-wen; Lai, Yu-chen (15 February 2024). "Death of 2 Chinese men off Kinmen regrettable: Taiwan agency". Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  9. ^ "金門海域陸快艇翻覆兩死！海巡坦承多次碰撞翻覆". SET News. 21 February 2024.
  10. ^ "台改称海巡队曾与闽渔船碰撞". std.stheadline.com. 22 February 2024.
  11. ^ Chang, I-lien; Hung, Hsueh-kuang; Huang, Li-yun; Lin, Chiao-lien; Wu, Kuan-hsien (22 February 2024). "CGA confirms Kinmen capsizing incident caused by patrol boat collision". Central News Agency. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Chinese Coast Guard Boarded Taiwan Ship After Deadly Boat Incident". Voice of America. Agence France-Presse. 19 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  13. ^ Chiang, Yi-lien; Tsai, Meng-yu; Chang, Chi; Mazzetta, Matthew (22 February 2024). "Relatives of Chinese men who died in Coast Guard chase arrive in Kinmen". Retrieved 30 July 2024. Family members of two Chinese men who died in a boat accident as they fled Taiwan's Coast Guard arrived in Kinmen to hold funeral rituals for them Tuesday, while the other two men on the boat were scheduled to be deported to China.
  14. ^ Hung, Hsiuh-kuang; Chang, Yi-liang; Lee, Hsin-Yin (21 February 2024). "CGA fails to clarify if collision caused fatal capsizing". Central News Agency. Retrieved 30 July 2024. According to prosecutors, the two survivors, who were deported back to China Tuesday, said they had no objection to the law enforcement procedures of the Coast Guard.
  15. ^ a b Davidson, Helen (20 February 2024). "China coast guard boards Taiwan tourist boat in escalation of tensions". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  16. ^ Wu, Huizhong (18 February 2024). "China's coast guard to ramp up patrols near Taiwan's Kinmen archipelago after 2 fishermen drown". Associated Press. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  17. ^ Hung, Hsueh-kuang; Tang, Pei-chun; Lee, Hsin-Yin (18 February 2024). "Taiwan rejects China's criticisms following deadly Kinmen boat chase". Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  18. ^ Tang, Pei-chun; Kao, Evelyn (19 February 2024). "After incident, Chinese boats patrol waters near Taiwan-held Kinmen". Central News Agency. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  19. ^ Tsai, Meng-yu; Yu, Hsiao-han; Ko, Lin (19 February 2024). "Taiwan vessel returns to Kinmen after being boarded by Chinese coast guard". Central News Agency. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Chinese Coast Guard boards Taiwan tourist boat, triggers panic". Al Jazeera. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  21. ^ "他們隸屬南海戰區? 金廈翻船事件生還者遭起底 疑解放軍扮福建漁民". Yahoo News (in Chinese). 26 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  22. ^ Lai, Sunny (28 July 2024). "Taiwan-China discussions on speedboat incident rescheduled to Tuesday". Central News Agency. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  23. ^ Hung, Hseuh-kuang; Lee, Hsin-Yin (30 July 2024). "Taiwan, China reach settlement terms over Kinmen speedboat incident". Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  24. ^ Ng, Kelly (30 July 2024). "Taiwan and China reach deal over fishermen's deaths". BBC. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  25. ^ Hung, Hsueh-kuang; Chang, I-lien; Wu, Kuan-hsien; Chao, Yen-hsiang (16 August 2024). "Coast Guard officers involved in Kinmen capsizing incident not charged". Central News Agency. Retrieved 17 August 2024. Republished as: "Officers involved in Kinmen capsizing not charged". Taipei Times. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  26. ^ Lee, Ya-wen; Kao, Evelyn (18 February 2024). "China using 'gray zone' tactics after deadly Kinmen boat case: Experts". Central News Agency. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  27. ^ Lin, Ching-yin; Wang, Yang-yu; Lee, Hsin-Yin (20 February 2022). "Premier urges reciprocal cooperation amid cross-strait maritime dispute". Central News Agency. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  28. ^ Chiang, Chin-yeh; Lee, Hsin-Yin (21 February 2024). "U.S. calls for peace amid Taiwan-China maritime dispute". Central News Agency. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
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