Taiwan’s government demanded on Tuesday that Beijing release one of their county’s fishing boats that was boarded and towed to a port in China.
In a press release, officials in Taipei stated that two vessels from the Chinese Coast Guard detained the Tachinman 88 while it was operating near the Taiwanese island of Kinmen.
In response to the altercation, three vessels were dispatched from Taiwan to rescue the ship and its six-person crew. The effort was later cancelled to avoid a confrontation when Chinese patrols challenged the flotilla.
The incident comes as China recently enacted a new law that authorizes its military to confiscate ships and detain the operators if they enter any territorial waters that the communist nation claims are their own.
In February, two Chinese fishermen were killed in the area during an interdiction by the Taiwanese Coast Guard.
Related Story: Two Chinese Fishermen Dead After Altercation with Taiwanese Coast Guard
