Taiwan has requested that China release the ship, which is being held at the southeast port of Weitou, along with the men, who are three Indonesians and two Taiwanese.
The boat was found inside China’s territorial waters, around 2.8 nautical miles off its shore, as Taiwanese officials verified to the news. Additionally, it was in operation from May to August—China’s traditional summer fishing prohibition.
According to China Coast Guard spokesperson Liu Dejun, “the fishing vessel violated the fishing moratorium regulations and trawled illegally within the… prohibited area.”
Additionally, he charged it with “damaging marine fishery resources” and improperly utilizing fishing gear. Taiwan has not yet replied to these remarks.
These fights have been frequent in the contentious 110-mile strait dividing Taiwan and China.
Although other nations that traverse these waterways, such as Japan and the United States, do not recognize this, China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own and the Strait as its exclusive economic zone. Furthermore, in recent years, the Chinese military has increased its pressure on Taiwan.
According to Taipei’s data, since 2003, Chinese authorities have detained and seized 17 Taiwan-registered vessels for fishing during the summer fishing prohibition. Taiwan has also seized five of these Chinese boats this year alone.
