Chinese ship in Taiwan's waters

A Coast Guard photograph taken by helicopter on Tuesday as evidence that the Chinese vessel was trespassing in Taiwan's territorial waters. Dragging behind the boat is reportedly some oil exploration equipment. PHOTO: COAST GUARD ADMINISTRATION

A Chinese oil exploration vessel has departed from Taiwanese territorial waters near the Pratas Islands (東沙島) following the discovery of its infringement late last month, according to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday.

The ship, the 2,619-tonne Tanbao, was first spotted by Taiwanese authorities late last month north of the Taiwanese-held Pratas Islands and until yesterday morning the ship was within the boundaries of Taiwan's exclusive economic maritime zone.

The Chinese vessel, however, had already begun gradually to move away in the direction of the Philippines the day before, on Tuesday, when Taiwanese vessels and aircraft had closed in on the ship to force its departure. The ship had at the time been about 150km south of Kaohsiung. The Coast Guard said later yesterday that the vessel was no longer in territorial waters.

The vessel's departure comes just after the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation, which handles cross-strait contact in lieu of the government, sent a letter on Wednesday requesting that the ship leave the waters and noting that the vessel was in violation of regulations requiring that appropriate permission be obtained before entering the economic maritime zone.

"Similar situations have occurred in the past but the vessel was usually quick to leave. This time, because the vessel was on an oil exploration mission it stayed for longer. The coast guard therefore took measures to force the vessel's departure and asked for the Straits Exchange Foundation's assistance," Director of the Coast Guard Administration Syu Huei-you (許惠祐) said yesterday, confirming that the vessel had been researching oil deposits in the area but not ruling out the possibility that the ship was acquiring military intelligence. He refrained, however, from further comment on the matter.

The incident comes just as Taiwan and China have been seeing unprecedented, high-level contacts between Beijing and opposition party leaders, the most in more than 50 years. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) just clinched a joint press communique following the conclusion of Lien's trip to Beijing Tuesday. This past week, China has also sought to woo Taiwan with trade and tourism concessions and a pair of giant pandas. In addition, People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong arrived in China yesterday and is gearing up for a high-profile meeting with Hu as well.

Deputy of National Defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) yesterday said at the legislature that the Tanbao's appearance in the waters south of Taiwan was seen as a unfriendly action, but not an adversarial one. He said that the navy and air force have efficiently reported the intrusion of China's exploration vessels in recent years.

"The navy avoids taking any military actions against those vessels if there is no overtly provocative action," he added.

Chang Li-teh (張立德), a senior editor with the Chinese-language Defense Technology Monthly magazine, said that the Chinese exploration vessels have aimed at exploring hydrogeology for their submarines. He said that Chinese submarines must pass one of two narrow passages -- one to the north of Taiwan and another in the south -- in order to enter the waters off of eastern Taiwan.

Because ocean currents and hydrogeology around the two passages are dangerous and difficult for submarines to pass through, Chinese exploration vessels need to keep gathering information on how to navigate through the area. He said that is why Chinese vessels have frequently appeared at either south and north of Taiwan in recent years.

The CGA (Coast Guard Administration) had found that a Chinese exploration vessel, Xiang Yang Hong 14 (向陽紅十四號) almost intruded 47km off of southern Taiwan in November 2002, and the vessel was forced to depart by CGA vessels.

According to the CGA, two Chinese exploration vessel, Huai Yang 4 (海洋四號) and Bei Dou (北斗號), respectively appeared in the north and south waters of Taiwan in April 2003, but the two vessels left in order to avoid a typhoon.

The CGA had said that a Chinese vessel, Xiang Yang Hong 6, (向陽紅六號), allegedly equipped with machine guns, entered waters north of Taiwan in August 2003, and was chased away by Taiwan's navy and CGA vessels.