Taiwan’s representative office in Vietnam is looking into reports that a Taiwanese fishing boat was allegedly harassed by vessels from the Vietnamese Fisheries Administration in disputed waters in the South China Sea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hanoi has been in contact with Vietnam’s fisheries authority to identity the ships, which were reported to be Vietnamese government vessels, ministry spokesperson Calvin Ho (何震寰) said.
According to the ministry, the incident took place 790 nautical miles (1,463km) off the southeastern tip of Taiwan and 157 nautical miles northwest of Taiwan-controlled Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島).
The fishing boat, called the Lung Wang Li No. 97, is owned by Siaoliouciou (小琉球) Mayor Tsai Tien-yu (蔡天裕) and is registered in Liouciou Township (琉球), Pingtung County.
Tsai told reporters that he received a phone call from vessel skipper Tseng Hsin-hsing (曾新興) at about 5:39am saying that the boat was being intercepted by a ship from Vietnam.
The Vietnamese ship flashed a light at the Lung Wang Li No. 97 to tell the boat to stop and then directed the boat to sail toward Vietnam, Tsai said.
Half an hour later, the unidentified Vietnamese ship turned around and the Taiwanese boat changed direction and sailed at high speed toward Taiwan, he said.
Tsai said that at 7:30am the Taiwanese boat realized that it had been followed by four other Vietnamese ships for about 10 minutes.
The Coast Guard Administration said that it was informed by the Lung Wang Li No. 97 at 5:47am that it was being approached by another Vietnamese boat and that the personnel aboard intended to conduct a survey of their boat.
Tseng told the Coast Guard Administration at 7:45am that personnel aboard the Vietnamese ship had not boarded their ship and left, the agency said.
The Lung Wang Li No. 97 was to return to Taiwan yesterday night, the CGA said.
The circumstances leading to the allegations of harrassment were yet to be determined, but the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hanoi would register its concern to Vietnam about the importance of maintaining safe fishing operations, Ho said.
Taiwan’s Representative to Vietnam Huang Chih-peng (黃志鵬) said he had been informed of the case and was in close contact with Vietnamese officials.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS