Taiwan Coast Guard hoses Chinese fishing boat off Dongsha

Taiwan’s Coast Guard used a water cannon on a Chinese fishing boat that refused to leave waters near Dongsha Island in the South China Sea, then warned its crew they would be arrested and their boat seized before finally towing it out of the area.

The Coast Guard Administration said its Dongsha-Nansha Branch spotted an unidentified boat around 11 a.m. on Oct. 1, about 15.5 nautical miles (29 km) northeast of Dongsha. It sent the 4,000-ton patrol vessel Yunlin (CG-5003), which around 3 p.m. found two Chinese fishing boats, the Yue Hui Dong Yu 75066 and the Jin Sha, fishing about 27 nautical miles (50 km) east of the island inside waters Taiwan controls, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.

The Yue Hui Dong Yu 75066 left after the Yunlin’s warnings. The Jin Sha did not. After three radio warnings went unanswered, the Yunlin fired its water cannon for 30 seconds from about 200 meters (660 feet) away, and when that failed it moved closer and sprayed the boat for another 90 seconds.

Coast Guard personnel then approached the fishing boat again and told the crew to leave or face arrest on the spot and seizure of the vessel. Footage released by the agency shows one Coast Guard officer holding a firearm at the ready during the encounter.

Location of Taiwan-controlled Dongsha (Pratas) Island in the South China Sea, where Taiwan’s Coast Guard drove off a Chinese fishing boat with a water cannon. Map: The Defence Blog

The standoff ended without arrests. At the crew’s request, the Yunlin gave the Jin Sha’s crew 35 hot meals, then towed the boat out of Taiwan’s restricted waters and handed it over to a Chinese work vessel early on Oct. 2. The Coast Guard said its use of the water cannon followed standard procedures, and urged Beijing to stop illegal fishing in the area.

Dongsha, also known as Pratas Island, lies about 450 km (280 miles) southwest of Kaohsiung and is one of two island groups Taiwan controls in the South China Sea, along with Taiping Island in the Spratlys. About 300 Coast Guard personnel are stationed there, and the surrounding atoll is a marine national park where all fishing is banned.

Taiwan defines two zones around its territory. Its prohibited waters are its territorial sea, normally 12 nautical miles from shore, and its restricted waters are a contiguous zone extending to 24 nautical miles. Around Dongsha, the lines can reach farther because they are measured from surrounding reefs.

The waters around Dongsha have seen repeated encounters this year. In May, the 5,500-ton Chinese coast guard ship CCG-3501 entered Taiwan’s restricted waters there and spent more than a day in a standoff with the Taiwanese patrol vessel Taichung, with each side radioing the other to leave. The Coast Guard said at the time it was the sixth time this year a Chinese coast guard ship had approached the island. In June, Taiwan reported the first entry by a Chinese government vessel into the restricted waters around Taiping Island.