Taiwan says China seized fishing boat near Chinese port

Taiwan's coast guard said Chinese officers boarded a Taiwanese boat and then sailed it to a Chinese port, in a further escalation of tensions.

China considers democratically-ruled Taiwan to be its territory. Since President Lai Ching Te came to power in May, Beijing has increased pressure on Taipei, accusing it of being a separatist.

Taiwan's coast guard said the fishing boat was operating near the Taiwan-administered Kinmen Islands, located near the Chinese cities of Xiamen, Quanzhou and Xiamen. Two ships from China's maritime administration boarded the boat and seized it Tuesday night.

Taiwan's coast guard said it had sent its own coast guard vessels to help and issued warnings to China, asking it to release the boat. The Chinese vessels responded that they would not intervene.

The Taiwanese ships then withdrew to avoid conflict, and the Taiwanese ship was taken to a Chinese port.

The China-Taiwan Affairs Office does not answer calls outside of business hours.

Since February, Chinese coast guard and maritime law enforcement vessels have been operating regularly around Kinmen after two Chinese fishermen were killed while trying to evade Taiwanese coast guard patrols. Ben Blanchard, Josie Kao and Ben Blanchard are the reporters; Josie Kao is the editor.