Taiwan boat seized

Wang Wei-hsi, the 44-year-old skipper of the Formosa Chieftain No. 2, and his deck hand were taken to Ishigaki-jima, near the disputed Tiaoyutai Islands for questioning in connection with intrusion into Japan's exclusive economic zone.

The fishing boat is moored at Ishigaki.

All nine anglers aboard the Formosa Chieftain were returned to Danshui.

In a joint press conference with the National Coast Guard Administration (NCGA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said that it will do its best to assist the two Taiwanese detained in Japan.

Hou Ching-Shan, deputy minister of MOFA, said that the Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan were notified of the incident immediately after MOFA learnt of the incident and are monitoring the negotiation progress with Japan.

Hau said that MOFA learned of the incident 10:30 p.m. Sunday and notified Taiwan's Representative Office in Japan in Japan and its branch in Nahashi soon. However, communication with Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established only at 6:00 a.m., yesterday.

The NCGA cannot be “100% sure” whether the fishing vessel had intruded Japanese territory but it is certain that the vessel had crossed Taiwan's temporary enforcement line.

The first naval encounter between Taiwan and Japan followed a hot pursuit made by the Japanese maritime safety patrol ship upon sighting the Formosa Chieftain at 4:45 p.m. on Sunday.

In a statement, Japan's Interchange Association office in Taipei said the Formosa Chieftain was within 9.2 miles of the island of Miyako.

One of the Japanese patrol ships, the Natuduki, chased the Formosa Chieftain, which sailed away to avoid any incident, like the one which occurred on June 10 last year.

On that day, a sports fishing boat, the Lienho, was rammed by a Japanese patrol vessel which had been pursuing it off the Tiaoyutais, which the Japanese call the Senkakus. Japan, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China all claim sovereignty over the eight uninhabited islets.

The Lienho sank, but no one aboard was injured. The boat was taken to Ishigaki along with its skipper and three crew members, who were detained for two days for questioning.

Before the Formosa Chieftain had been overtaken, its skipper radioed for help from Taiwan.

The NCGA dispatched five vessels to the scene at once.

They encountered five Japanese patrol ships, including the Nobaru, Natuduki and Kunigami.

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