China “vigorously”
condemned
the Taiwanese authorities on Wednesday February 14 after the death at sea of two nationals during an incident described as
“sneaky”
by Beijing.
According to the Taiwanese news agency CNA, a Chinese speedboat
“illegally entered Taiwanese waters”
before capsizing on Wednesday during a chase with the Taiwanese coast guard.
Two of the four passengers on the boat died during this incident which occurred off the Kinmen Islands, controlled by Taiwan but within sight of the Chinese coast.
“We urge the Taiwanese side to immediately shed light on the incident
,” blasted Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Chinese office responsible for Taiwanese affairs, in a statement.
Beijing considers Taiwan one of its provinces although it exercises no sovereignty over the island territory of 23 million people and its adjacent islands.
China presents
“its sincere condolences”
to the families of the victims and
“strongly condemns this sneaky incident”
which led to the death of two
“fishermen”
, the press release added.
“A law enforcement operation”
The Taiwan Coast Guard announced in a statement that it discovered an unidentified speedboat near the Kinmen Islands on Wednesday afternoon, which was
“0.86 nautical miles in prohibited waters”
.
“During a law enforcement operation, the mainland Chinese boat accidentally capsized and four Chinese crew members fell into the sea
,” the coast guard said in a statement.
Rescue operations were immediately launched following the incident, it said.
Two crew members were rescued while two others were found unconscious.
“They were transferred to hospital for emergency treatment which proved ineffective
,” the statement said.
Authorities will notify the families of the deceased crew members, while the two rescued crew members were taken to Kinmen for investigation, it said.
This incident occurs in a context of strong tensions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
The Taiwanese presidential election, held in January and won by Lai Ching-te, from a party traditionally campaigning for independence, further strained already very tense relations between Beijing and Taipei.
Chinese President Xi Jinping tirelessly repeats that the reunification of Taiwan with mainland China, whose destiny has been separated for more than 70 years and the end of the Chinese civil war, is inevitable.