The navy and the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) have sent vessels to keep close tabs on a China research ship which has been cruising off Taiwan's southernmost coast since April 10, an official said yestersday.
The 3,000-tonne Chinese research ship Haiyang No. 4 was first spotted mooring in waters 148km south of Oulanpi on Taiwan's southernmost tip last Thursday, the official with the CGA's Hengchun office in southern Taiwan said.
"We immediately alerted the navy," the official said, adding that the CGA and naval authorities have sent large-scale ships to closely track the Chinese vessel.
As the ship has consistently operated in the open sea, the official said, the CGA patrol boats and the navy's Lafayette-class frigates have kept guard in Taiwan's 45km territorial waters.
According to the official, the Chinese ship has moved slowly over the past few days.
"We have tried to understand the ship's purpose through communication channels commonly used by international merchant ships. The ship's crew said they are collecting samples for seabed geological study," he explained.
The Haiyang No. 4 left its home port of Guangzhou in the southern province of Guangdong April 6, the official said, adding that the ship's research equipment is on par with that which is installed on another Chinese sea-faring research vessel, the Xiangyanghong No. 14, which was detected approaching Taiwan on numerous occasions last year.
The Haiyang No. 4 was operating in waters more than 166km southwest of Taiwan's southern port city of Kaohsiung yesterday morning.
"CGA and navy ships will continue taking turns in monitoring China' vessel's operations round the clock," the official said.
According to CGA sources, the Haiyang No. 4 used to operate in the East China Sea. It once approached Japan's 370km Exclusive Economic Zone in September 1996 on a research mission. Late last year, it completed a commercial study on mineral reserves beneath the Pacific Ocean.
After the Chinese research ship Xiangyanghong No. 14 was spotted off Orchid Island (Lanyu), some 42km off Taiwan's southeastern coast, for the first time last year, the government decided to set up a radar station on the scenic island.
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