Taiwan’s Coast Guard is stepping up monitoring and patrols as unmarked Chinese boats flagrantly ignore restrictions and enter Taiwan’s waters.
An unregistered Chinese speedboat was spotted off the coast of Penghu on Sunday, brazenly attempting to steal the equipment and catches of Taiwanese fishers. Fishers caught the boat on camera, reporting it to the coastguard.
The boat had two crew members—one steering while the other snatched up the property. The incident happened around 1 p.m. on Sunday, approximately 20 nautical miles southwest of Penghu’s Xiyu area.
Penghu Coast Guard official Tu Hsin-hsiao (凃信孝) assured that special patrols and monitoring are being strengthened in the area to prevent further occurrences and to track vessel activity in this high-risk maritime zone.
Earlier that morning, at around 8 a.m., another Chinese vessel was spotted 20 nautical miles off the coast of Taouyuan’s Yongan. The suspicious boat had no name or identifying markings, and fuel barrels were seen onboard. The Hsinchu Coast Guard intercepted and boarded the boat for inspection.
Officers found six crew members, believed to be Chinese but without identification documents, and 500,000 liters of fuel onboard. Investigators believe the vessel to be a Chinese fuel supply ship, illegally refueling other trespassing Chinese boats.
Hsinchu Coast Guard Deputy Captain Lo Tian-hsiung (駱天雄) confirmed that officers immediately escorted the unregistered Chinese vessel back to the Port of Taipei for further investigation.