A coast guard patrol vessel early on Tuesday drove away Chinese tugboats that were sailing about 4 nautical miles (7.4km) off Taiwan’s southern coast, the Coast Guard Administration said, rejecting a report that at least one of the ships came within a record 3 nautical miles.
The online airspace tracker Taiwan ADIZ early on Tuesday posted a map from the Maritime and Port Bureau showing the Chinese tugboat Ning Hai Tuo 5001 (寧海拖5001) sailing a reported 2.61 nautical miles east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) at about 4am.
The boat has been sailing with another tugboat, the Yuan Chen (遠辰), towing a work pontoon.
Photo courtesy of the Maritime and Port Bureau
However, the coast guard said it was actually sailing about 4 nautical miles offshore.
The Cijin (旗津) offshore patrol vessel was dispatched to drive the boats beyond 17 nautical miles, it said, adding that they have continued to sail north-northeast away from the nation’s waters, monitored by the Taitung coast guard.
It is not the first time the tugboats were spotted near the coast.
At about 4am on Nov. 30, they reportedly stopped west of Maopitou (貓鼻頭) on the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島).
Trackers reported that they encroached within 3 nautical miles of shore, although the coast guard said they came only 3 nautical miles away at the closest before they were driven away.
Then on Sunday, the tugboats were detected southwest of Oluanpi, the coast guard said.
The boats on Monday changed direction to sail southward, telling the coast guard it was due to poor sea conditions, it said.
For safety, the coast guard monitored the vessels while continuing to broadcast messages, but sent the Cijin to drive them away on Tuesday morning when they encroached too close to the coast, it added.
Observers reported being able to see the vessels from the Jialeshuei (佳樂水) coast near Kenting (墾丁).
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