Taiwanese official watchdog blames coastguard for fishermen’s deaths

Taiwan’s government watchdog has criticised the island’s coastguard for “serious lapses” in a deadly incident involving a mainland Chinese boat.

The February 14 incident resulted in the deaths of two fishermen whose boat capsized while being pursued by the Taiwanese coastguard near Quemoy, a Taipei-controlled outpost also known as Kinmen, a few kilometres from the mainland coast.

For months, the Taiwanese coastguard had defended its actions, saying they were in line with regulations, and accusing the mainland fishing boat of entering prohibited waters.

The Control Yuan, which oversees government operations, ordered “corrective action” in a rare ruling that said the coastguard had “significantly violated multiple regulations” and was guilty of “serious lapses in duty”.

In a statement released on Monday, the oversight body said the coastguard had breached joint operation guidelines by dispatching a single patrol vessel instead of the required two for the operation. It had also failed to replace four onboard video cameras that had been removed from the patrol boat in 2022.

Although the patrol boat had a handheld camera, the agency said it would have been risky to use during a high-speed chase.