The navy on Friday said it was still investigating a March 27 collision between one of its vessels and a Chinese fishing boat in waters off central Taiwan.
The Naval Fleet Command in a statement said it is cooperating with the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) to determine accountability, and that further actions would follow cross-strait negotiation mechanisms and relevant procedures.
The incident occurred at 12:38am on March 27, when a Chung Ho-class tank landing ship, LST-232, collided with the Chinese-registered Min Lien Yu 61756 about 45 nautical miles (83km) off the Port of Taichung.
Photo: Taipei Times
The Taiwanese vessel reported some damage, although it did not affect navigational safety, the navy command said at the time.
No injuries were reported on either side.
Two CGA patrol boats were dispatched to the site of the collision that day to gather evidence pending an investigation, the navy said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office has demanded that Taiwan compensate the Chinese fishers for their losses.
“The responsibility for the accident lies entirely with the Taiwan ship, but the Taiwan ship had a bad attitude and evaded responsibility after hitting the fishing boat,” TAO spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) said in a statement sent to Reuters on Friday.
Zhu said China’s preliminary investigation showed the Chinese trawler was anchored with its automatic identification system (AIS) signal and warning lights turned on, saying the naval ship failed to display its own AIS signal or warning lights.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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