After months of negotiations, Taiwan and China have come to an agreement over the deaths of two Chinese fisherman in a maritime incident.
The fishermen’s families have negotiated a settlement, according to Taiwan’s coast guard, for their loved ones who perished while attempting to escape when their boat entered forbidden waters.
According to Hsieh Ching-chin, the deputy director-general of the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration, an agreement was achieved during the negotiation today because of the persistent efforts made by both sides of the Strait, he told reporters in Kinmen.
Meanwhile, China claims democratically controlled Taiwan as its own territory, despite the island’s strong protests, and has increased military activity near it in recent years, including practically daily breaches into air defense identification zones.
Following the deaths of two Chinese fishermen in February, China’s coast guard initiated regular patrols on the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands near its shore.
Chinese coast guard boats have been pushed out of Taiwan’s territorial waters in recent months.
It claims that China has been pressuring and testing Taiwanese soldiers using “grey zone” tactics, including as frequent patrols close to Kinmen, that fall short of open warfare.
Tensions escalated further in July when Chinese officials boarded, then seized, a Taiwanese fishing boat that was fishing close to China’s shore during the country’s no-fishing season. The boat was then taken to a Chinese port.
