Two Chinese Fishermen Die After Chase With Taiwan’s Coast Guard, Which Alleges Trespassing

BANGKOK (AP) — Two Chinese fishermen have drowned while being chased by Taiwan’s Coast Guard off the coast of Taiwan’s Kinmen archipelago, the coast guard said Wednesday.

The deaths are unusual despite the level of Chinese activity in the waters near Kinmen, which is closer to China than it is to Taiwan’s main island. There was no immediate statement from China.

The unnamed Chinese vessel had been trespassing Wednesday afternoon by sailing about one nautical mile off the coast of an islet of Kinmen island, Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said in a statement. The Chinese vessel attempted to flee but capsized.

Four fishermen fell into the water and two survived and are in “good shape,” while resuscitation efforts on the other two failed, the vice captain of the coast guard in Kinmen, Chen Jien-wen, told a local TV channel.

The Coast Guard said the fishermen’s families were being contacted via official channels. It said the case has been reported to the Kinmen prosecutor’s office.

Kinmen is in the Taiwan Strait that separates China and Taiwan. From some parts of the archipelago, the southern Chinese city of Xiamen is visible to the naked eye.

China claims all of Taiwan as part of its territory.

Kinmen residents in recent years have reported seeing an increase in sand dredger vessels from China, which take sand from the ocean floor, as well as fishing ships, close to its coast. At times, dozens of the ships can be seen from the island.