The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has sent two ships to the East China Sea to protect Taiwanese fishing boats working in the region which Taiwan, China and Japan all claim to be part of their exclusive economic zones.
The two ships, including a 1,800-tonne cutter and a 500-tonne patrol vessel, left for the East China Sea at 8:30am on Saturday, from Keelung, the CGA said.
They are to stay near the Taiwanese fishing boats till today, when they will be relieved by another two ships which will carry out the same mission for a further three days.
It is the first time that the CGA has sent two ships on a fishery protection mission in the East China Sea. The CGA has previously only ever sent one ship on such missions.
The CGA declined to confirm whether the move was intended as a message to Japan about its recent unfriendliness toward Taiwanese fishing boats working in the East China Sea.
Early last week, Japan's maritime authorities used force to drive several Taiwan fishing boats away from the area.
When the government failed to make an immediate response it was strongly criticized by opposition parties.
The CGA then decided on Friday to send two ships to the East China Sea to handle the fishery dispute in the area.
The two ships sent for the missions include the 1,800-tonne Hehsing cutter and 500-tonne Keelung patrol vessel.
The navy also sent a Knox-class frigate to the region to provide assistance to the CGA ships if necessary. The frigate is the No. 935 Lanyang based in Suao.
The navy said the frigate's deployment was not part of the fishery protection task but was a routine cruise in seas north of the island.
A spokesman for the CGA said the fishery protection missions are important but should not be highlighted too much.
"The fishery dispute in the East China Sea is best solved through diplomatic means. The government has started talks with Japan on the issue but no agreement has been signed between two sides," the spokesman said.
"Our fishermen have the same right as their Japanese counterparts to catch fish in the East China Sea since the region is claimed by both countries as their economic zone," he said.
"What makes things complicated is that China also has the same claim. It has signed an agreement with Japan several years ago on how to share fishery resources in the area," he said. "Missing from the picture is Taiwan."
According to UN regulations, a coastal country like Taiwan can claim a 200-nautical mile (370km) exclusive economic zone.
The economic zone claimed by Taiwan stretches to 29 degrees north latitude at its northern-most point, overlapping with parts of the East China Sea which are also claimed by China and Japan as their economic zones.
No disputes have been recorded between China and Japan over fishing in the area since the two countries signed an agreement on the sharing of fishery resources in the overlapping parts of their economic zones.
An official with the CGA, who declined to be identified, said the government hopes to improve the situation as soon as possible.
"Talks with Japan over the issue have been proceeding for several years. Though no results have been seen as of yet, we have great hopes for developments in the situation," the official said.
The CGA has as one of its primary missions the protection of fishery resources in territorial waters.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a