On February 19, 2024, a Chinese Coast Guard Boarded a Taiwanese tourist ship that accidentally entered Chinese waters. It is pretty common for Chinese and Taiwanese tourist ships to enter each other’s water spaces by accident, some officials even adding “Boats like these are not illegal at all.”

The coast guards checked the ship’s route plan, certificate, and crew licenses after boarding the ship, then left half an hour later. “We think it has harmed our people’s feelings and triggered people’s panic. That was also not in line with the interest of the people across the strait,” Kuan Bi-ling, the head of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council. The military of either country will not do anything about the situation to avoid escalating tensions.

This situation follows another recent incident when a Chinese fishing boat off the coast of Taiwan was pursued by Taiwan’s coast guard after resisting an inspection. The boat was later capsized, killing two of the four fishermen onboard. After this, China began to step up patrols in the Kinmen archipelago.