Taiwan's coast guard on Tuesday night said Chinese authorities boarded and later seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China's coast, near the Taiwan-controlled island and took it to Chinese ports, in an escalation of further tensions.
The squid catcher was near Taiwan-run Kinmen Islands, located next to Chinese cities, Xiamen and Quanzhou, but was in Chinese waters on Tuesday night, when the ship was boarded and seized by two Chinese maritime administrative vessels, Taiwan's coast guard said.
Taiwan sent its own coast guard ship to assist and broadcast a warning asking China to release the fishing vessel, but Chinese ships re-broadcast it saying it would not interfere, Taiwan coast guard said.
Taiwanese ships then withdrew to avoid conflict and the Taiwanese fishing vessel was then taken to Chinese ports, he added, saying three of the five fishermen were Indonesian migrant workers.
The Taiwanese ship was operating during China's fishing ban, coast guard said, adding Taiwan would communicate with China and urged them to release fishermen as soon as possible.
Deputy Director General of Taiwan Coast Guard Administration Hsieh Ching-chin told reporters in Taipei China should explain why they confiscated the ship, and pointed out that in previous cases, fishermen had been released after paying fines while operating during the season without fishing in China.
Taiwanese fishing vessels need to increase their level of vigilance and coast guard will also strengthen their patrols, he added.
"The coast guard also asked the mainland not to use political factors to deal with this situation," said Hsieh.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is not the first time a Taiwanese fishing vessel has been caught by Chinese authorities after operating in the country's waters, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.
A Taiwanese official, who understands the island's security planning, told Reuters they had issued a warning to fishing and transportation authorities around Taiwan to pay attention to the "probable risk" amid frequent activities of Chinese coast guard in the region, including near Japan and the Philippines.
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It is known, catching each other fishing boats that violate the limits has often occurred between Taiwan and China. Throughout this year, Taiwan has detained five such vessels from China, according to Taiwan's coast guard data.
Maritime law enforcement vessels and Chinese coast guard have been operating regularly around Kinmen since February, after two Chinese fishermen died while trying to escape Taiwanese coast guard.
China is known to view democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, as increasing pressure on Taipei since President Lai Ching-te took office in May.
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