Chinese Coast Guard boards Taiwan tourist boat, triggers panic

Chinese Coast Guard officials briefly boarded a Taiwanese cruise ship on Monday in an incident the government in Taipei said triggered panic among the people of the self-ruled island.

The incident near the Taiwanese Kinmen Islands, off the coast of the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou, came a day after Beijing said it would step up patrols in the area in response to the deaths of two Chinese fishermen who drowned last week while being chased by the Taiwanese Coast Guard.

In a statement on Monday, Taiwan’s Coast Guard said six Chinese officials boarded the Taiwanese tourist boat, which was carrying 11 crew members and 23 passengers.

The Chinese officials checked the boat’s route plan, certificate and crew licenses and left about half an hour later.