At the December 31 press conference of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, a reporter asked for comment on the mainland Coast Guard once again entering the so-called “restricted waters” near Kinmen to conduct law-enforcement patrols. Taiwan’s maritime patrol authority claimed that “the mainland Coast Guard deliberately formed up to harass vessels, disregarded navigational safety, and created significant navigation risks for passing ships.”
In response, Zhang Han, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China, and that Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu are all parts of China; therefore, there is fundamentally no such thing as so-called “restricted waters.” Claims that the mainland “disregarded the navigational safety of passing vessels” are entirely groundless.
The mainland Coast Guard’s law-enforcement patrols in the relevant waters are carried out in accordance with the law and are precisely intended to maintain normal navigation and operational order in those waters, as well as to safeguard the lives and property of fishermen on both sides of the Strait.
For a long time, the Democratic Progressive Party authorities have ignored the historical and objective facts of fishermen from both sides jointly operating in traditional fishing grounds. Their groundless detentions and even dangerous and rough treatment of mainland fishing vessels and fishermen are the real culprits creating navigation risks for passing ships and seriously threatening the lives and property of fishermen.