TAIPEI (Reuters) – China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near the Chinese coast on charges of illegal fishing may be an act of psychological warfare by Beijing aimed at increasing pressure on Taipei, a senior Taiwanese security official said on Thursday.
Chinese officials boarded the boat and returned it to port in China late Tuesday. The boat had been fishing for squid in Chinese waters but close to the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Islands. China says the boat violated a summer fishing ban and was engaged in illegal net fishing.
The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait. China considers democratically-ruled Taiwan a province and has ramped up pressure on Taipei since May when President Tsai Ing-wen, a man Beijing accuses of being a “separatist,” took office.
Speaking to reporters in parliament, Taiwan’s National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen said it was unusual for Chinese officials to board a Taiwanese fishing vessel and then detain it, and pointed to China’s explanation that it was fishing illegally.
He added that China may also have done so to demonstrate its jurisdiction over the strait and put pressure on the Taiwan government.
“We have to continue to analyze whether this is an epistemic warfare operation, and we will fully assess the motivations that drive the Chinese Communists,” Tsai said.
Taiwan’s coast guard said China had previously detained Taiwanese fishing vessels for illegal fishing, but released them after they paid a fine.
Late Wednesday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said the seizure of the boat was a “normal law enforcement action” to protect fishing resources and the environment given the illegal fishing it was engaged in.
“The relevant authorities will deal with the matter in accordance with the law and regulations,” she said in a statement.
Three of the five fishermen on board were Indonesian nationals, the Taiwanese Coast Guard said.
China says it has sovereignty over the strait, while both Taiwan and the United States say it is an international waterway.
Taiwan has complained for four years that China has intensified “gray zone” activities in an attempt to drain Taiwan through offensive actions that fall short of full-scale conflict, such as launching balloons over Taiwan.