MCrossing the calm waters of the South China Sea, Taiwanese captain Lu Wen-hsiung sees Chinese and Taiwanese fishermen mooring their boats out of sight of the authorities behind a rocky headland to gather and eat. I remembered the old times when we were together. Back then, there was less oversight and the two countries were friendlier, fishing in the same waters and sometimes secretly selling to each other.
“We were like brothers and we had a good relationship. They even cooked for us,” he says. “But…now that the crackdown has become stricter, [Chinese] If a boat gets too close, the Coast Guard will call you. ”
Lu, now a tour boat captain, said if he even approached the forbidden water line, the de facto border with China, he would receive an instant radio warning from the coast guard.
Lu and his boat are sailing through the busy waters around Kinmen County, an archipelago controlled by Taiwan just a few kilometers from China.
The Chinese Communist Party claims that Taiwan (including Kinmen Island) is a province of China, and is increasing its hostility towards Taiwan with the aim of annexing it, and the opposition from the Taiwanese government and people is only increasing.
Despite political tensions, the Kinmen-Xiamen region is one of the regions where public cooperation can actually continue, with joint efforts being carried out to control illegal fishing and smuggling, as well as search and rescue operations. It is. But last month’s maritime disaster threatens to cause the border to collapse, raising serious questions about its strength.
new normal
Mr. Lu’s boat passes within range of Kinmen Island’s outer islands, some of which are open to tourists but others closed to the military. Not far away is the glittering skyline of the Chinese city of Xiamen, with fishing boats, private ferries, and foreign cargo vessels rolling in the surrounding sea. That likely includes Chinese fishing vessels, known to both sides as the “three nos” (unnamed, unregistered, unflagged), often engaged in illegal fishing and smuggling. A few hundred meters away, on the other side of the narrow international shipping lane, a Chinese Coast Guard ship is on patrol.
These patrols were stepped up after the capsizing of a third ship in Kinmen waters in February. The boat fled from a Taiwan Coast Guard vessel that had ordered it to stop for inspection. Two of the four Chinese passengers died, and China blamed Taiwan. Anger increased further when it emerged that the two ships had collided, a fact that Taiwanese authorities initially ignored. Fifteen rounds of closed-door negotiations over liability and compensation have so far come to nothing. China has accused Taiwan of evasion, and Taiwan has accused China of making “unreasonable” demands, such as asking Taiwanese officers to be interrogated on the mainland.
Chinese authorities publicly deny the existence of prohibited waters. Such statements are consistent with Beijing’s claims to Taiwan, a border that has been tacitly respected since its demarcation in the 1990s. Days after the collision, the China Coast Guard launched additional patrols, with some boarding a Taiwanese tourist boat for inspection and scaring passengers, and others crossing into Kinmen waters.
Experts say both sides are clearly trying to avoid a serious escalation of the incident, but China’s reaction also fits into a pattern of using the incident to establish new norms and violate Taiwan’s borders. It says that there are.
The most notable example of this tactic occurred during U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2020. In response, Chinese military incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone increased, and crossing the median line, the de facto border in the Taiwan Strait, became commonplace.
Around Kinmen Island, “Beijing has been careful to avoid appearing overly provocative, even as it seeks to use this incident to undermine Taiwan’s authority.” said Amanda Hsiao, senior China analyst at the International Crisis Group.
“While law enforcement’s use of patrols as a means of expressing displeasure is likely to continue, the Chinese government may also choose to increase or decrease the frequency or intensity of patrols in response to events.”
Last week, Tsai Ming-ye, director of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, told Congress that China conducts “joint combat readiness patrols” on average every seven to 10 days to normalize operations.
The end of “tacit agreement”
Residents on Kinmen Island are relaxed, dismissing the recent unrest as an “internationalization” of a tragic accident by malicious actors. Attitudes toward cross-strait relations and national identity differ from those on mainland Taiwan. “Given the geography, economy and culture, this means that the two regions will always be close,” said independent local councilor Tun Sengpo.
More than 140,000 people live on Kinmen Island. This is a quiet, semi-rural community with visible traces of a culture spanning thousands of years, hundreds of which have made it either a military base or the front line of multiple conflicts. The economy once depended on the thousands of soldiers stationed there during and after the civil war, but has since pivoted to tourism and the production of the local liquor, Gao Liang. In 2020, it became Taiwan’s fifth richest county in terms of median income.
The main concern of Kinmen Islanders is the continued restrictions on the tourism economy and bilateral travel and trade privileges between Kinmen Island and Xiamen, which were suspended during the pandemic and have only been partially restored. do not have.
Still, there are concerns that tensions following the capsize may deter tourists. Both taxi drivers and hoteliers believed that the number of domestic tourists had decreased since the rollover. Mr. Chiu and Mr. Li, a couple from mainland Taiwan, said they were nervous while planning their visit, but felt relieved once they arrived.
Some residents are concerned about crackdowns at sea. At a fish market in Jincheng town, hawkers said they were worried about some fishermen and pleasure boats heading offshore after China stepped up patrols.
“They’re worried about safety, but we’re also afraid of conflict,” said Chan, a seafood seller.
“We don’t believe there is any hostility. [fishing crews] Sometimes we trade by sea, [but] The problem of smuggling is very serious and sometimes the marine patrol can help us deal with it, but we are few in number and there are many of us. ”
China and Taiwan have cooperated in the past against illegal activities in the strait, but the future situation is now complicated.
Raymond Kuo, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation, said conflicts increase the risk of misunderstandings and accidents.
“Not only between Chinese and Taiwanese enforcement agencies, but also between those enforcement agencies and civilians in the region,” he says.
“Whose rules and orders do we have to follow? What happens if we receive conflicting instructions? This difference in enforcement jurisdiction also creates opportunities for illegal activity.”
Chinese negotiators left Kinmen several weeks ago without an agreement on compensation. Quan Bilin, Minister of Taiwan’s Maritime Affairs Commission, apologized for the Taiwan Coast Guard’s insufficient evidence collection and expressed regret and condolences for the deaths. However, she said Taiwan’s investigation is ongoing and no further information will be released until the investigation is complete.
Last Wednesday, China Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua accused Taipei of stalling and threatened further countermeasures.
Less than 24 hours later, at least two Chinese fishermen were killed when their registered fishing boat capsized near Dongding Island, the southernmost island of Kinmen Island. The accident was in a restricted area, but the cause has not been revealed. Chinese and Taiwanese authorities carried out search and rescue operations, suggesting some level of cooperation continues, at least for now.
But patrols have also increased. over the weekendFour ships of the China Coast Guard entered Kinmen waters on consecutive days. cause confusion They were also among the Taiwanese officials who had just sent help to the overthrow.
Tun said there was no longer a “tacit agreement” on the border, but he hoped both sides could formalize it during negotiations.
Lu also hopes that the two countries can move forward and Kinmen Island’s unique position between the two countries can return to a more friendly era.
“The incident could have been minimized from the beginning, but it has now become an international issue,” he says.
