Taiwan will maintain its policy to not directly intervene around Kinmen’s waters to avoid escalating tensions with China, said the Defense Ministry on Wednesday.
The Defense Ministry outlined its stance following recent tensions around the Kinmen Islands this past week. On February 14, two Chinese nationals died after their fishing boat crossed prohibited waters and capsized, as it tried to escape Taiwan’s coast guard. In response, China’s coast guard tightened patrols in the surrounding waters, and on Monday, its personnel boarded a Tawainese tourist boat and carried out a half-hour inspection, after it veered towards Chinese waters.
Lee Chang-fu (李昌富), deputy head of the Defense Ministry’s joint operations planning department, says the military has full control of the situation. Lee adds the outlying islands’ defense forces and navy will plan for the possibility of similar scenarios and incorporate relevant drills so that effective assistance will be immediately available in the future.
Defense Ministry intelligence officer Huang Ming-chieh (黃明傑) adds that there is currently nothing unusual about China’s recent military movements.