Taiwan Says Chinese Coast Guard Detained Its Fishing Vessel, Demands Its Release From Beijing

The vessel -- Dajinman 88 -- was intercepted by two Chinese vessels on Tuesday evening, following which the coast guard boarded and steered it towards a port in mainland China.

In a statement, the Taiwanese maritime authorities said that they had dispatched two vessels to rescue Dajinman 88, but they were blocked by China's boats and told to not interfere.

"The Coast Guard calls on the mainland to refrain from engaging in political manipulation and harming cross-strait relations, and to release the Dajinman ship and crew as soon as possible,” ABC news reported citing the statement.

According to Taiwan's Central News Agency, the six crew members were aboard the vessel, including the captain and five migrant workers. Reportedly, the vessel was merely over 20 kilometres away from mainland China's Jinjiang, when it was detained by the Chinese coast guard.

China, for the longest of time, has been viewing Taiwan as a rebel province, which must again become a part of the mainland, even if it is by force.

The Chinese military regularly sends warplanes and ships towards the self-governing island and it even conducted a massive drills in May.

Notably, with a population of 23 million, Taiwan has been under threat of Chinese invasion since the sides divided during a bitter and bloody civil war in 1949.

Chinese Military, had in May, warned Taiwan that its independence would mean "war", saying that it was ready to take firm actions to thwart any foreign interference in support of "separatist activities" in the self-ruled island.

Lai Ching-te, sworn in as Taiwan's President in May, told sailors and top officials that, "Facing external challenges and threats, we will continue to maintain the values of freedom and democracy."

He had also said that Taiwan was "a sovereign independent nation in which sovereignty lies in the hands of the people”.

(With AP inputs)