Taipei, July 30 (EFE).- Taiwan and China said they reached a consensus Tuesday on the incident that caused the death in February of two Chinese fishermen in the vicinity of the Kinmen Islands, an archipelago under Taiwanese control a few kilometers from China.
This was confirmed in a joint appearance by Li Zhaohui, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office deputy director in Quanzhou, and Taiwanese Coast Guard Deputy Director Hsieh Ching-chin following a meeting between both parties in a hotel in Kinmen.
“Five months have passed since the Feb. 14 incident and a consensus has finally been reached in the negotiations. I hope that relevant authorities in Taiwan will actively implement the agreed terms to provide reassurance to the victims and an explanation to the families,” Li said, without revealing the details of the agreement.
Hsieh, for his part, said the understanding was possible “thanks to the continuous efforts” of both parties, and stressed that the atmosphere of the meeting “was very good.”
According to Chen Yu-yen, a legislator from the Kuomintang – Taiwan’s main opposition party – the agreement could include the release of a non-commissioned officer of the Taiwanese Army held in Quanzhou since March, when tensions between Taiwan and China over the speedboat incident were at their highest point.
The incident in question occurred on Feb. 14: that day, a small Chinese boat – which had no certificate, name or port registration number – broke into Kinmen waters and two of its four crew members died after a chase by the Taiwanese Coast Guard.
In response, China announced “patrols” in the area to “protect the lives and property of fishermen,” accusing Taiwanese authorities of treating these Chinese sailors in a “brutal and dangerous” manner, although Taipei insisted at all times that its coast guard acted “in accordance with the law.”
The case led to an increase in friction around the Kinmen, a group of islands where more than 100,000 Taiwanese live and which are located 10 kilometers from the Chinese city of Xiamen and another 180 kilometers from the main island of Taiwan.
The Chinese Coast Guard detained Taiwanese fishing vessel “Da Jin Man No. 88” on Jul. 2 when it was sailing around the archipelago, and both the boat and its crew – two Taiwanese and three Indonesians – have remained detained in China since, despite repeated protests from Taipei.
The Kinmen Islands have been the subject of multiple disputes between China and Taiwan over the decades, including the massive bombing of 1958, when the Chinese army opened fire on the archipelago in the context of the second Taiwan Strait crisis. EFE
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