China has inspected a Taiwanese sightseeing vessel near Taiwan's remote Kinmen island, according to Taipei, as cross-strait tensions rise following the deaths of two Chinese fishermen last week when their boat was chased by Taiwanese authorities.
Chinese coast guard officers boarded the sightseeing vessel to check its route plan, certificate and the licenses of its captain and crew, Taiwan's coast guard said Monday. Kinmen is located just a couple of kilometers away from Xiamen, a port city in the Chinese province of Fujian.
On Tuesday, Taiwan's premier, Chen Chien-jen, called on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to be "rational" and cooperate to jointly maintain security in the sea area.
The sightseeing vessel had 11 crew members and 23 passengers and was about 5.2 km northwest of Kinmen's Wushajiao when it was intercepted by two Chinese coast guard boats at 4:47 p.m. Monday, Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration said, adding Chinese officials left around 30 minutes later.
Passengers were alarmed at the inspection and fearful that they could not return to Taiwan, according to the island's media.
Last Wednesday, a Chinese fishing boat from Fujian capsized in waters near Kinmen after it was expelled by Taiwanese authorities, with all four crew members ending up in the water. The two surviving fishermen have been detained on the remote island.
Taipei claims the Chinese boat was in prohibited waters. Following the incident, Beijing said Sunday it will increase patrol operations in the sea area.
Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council, has condemned the island's ruling, independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party over the incident, saying the DPP government has been "forcibly detaining mainland fishing boats" and "rudely treated" Chinese fishermen.
Kinmen was the site of several major historical clashes following a civil war that saw mainland China and Taiwan become separately governed since they split in 1949.
