Taipei [Taiwan], March 15: Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) on Friday expelled four Chinese Coast Guard vessels that violated restricted waters off Kinmen, an island under Taiwan's control, as reported by Central News Agency, Focus Taiwan.
The incursion, detected at 2:46 pm, prompted a swift response from Taiwanese patrol vessels, which closely monitored and issued warnings until the Chinese ships retreated from the prohibited zones surrounding Kinmen Island.
According to Focus Taiwan, despite assertions from the China Coast Guard that their patrol was conducted within legal boundaries, the China Coast Guard said the ships were "legally patrolling waters off Kinmen," the statement added.
According to the CGA, the Chinese vessels were in waters 3 to 3.2 nautical miles south of Kinmen Island, as per Focus Taiwan.
Recently on Thursday, Taiwan and China initiated a joint rescue mission following a fishing boat capsizing incident near Taiwan's Kinmen Islands, aimed at locating two missing crew members, as reported by Aljazeera.
The boat, with six individuals on board, sank approximately 1.07 nautical miles southwest of Dongding islet around 6 am on Thursday, as reported by Taiwanese authorities.
According to Aljazeera, two people have been confirmed dead, while two survivors have been rescued from the scene.
The area is sensitive because Kinmen is located just 5km (three miles) off China's eastern coast.
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