The cases have some similarities but this time it could be much more difficult to negotiate a resolution, observers say.
02:20
Two mainland Chinese fishermen drown after Taiwan coastguard pursuit
Two mainland Chinese fishermen drown after Taiwan coastguard pursuit
Both incidents happened amid a lack of communication and trust between the two sides.
Like the earlier tragedy, Beijing strongly condemned Taipei’s handling of the February collision. Beijing called the crash a “vicious incident” and said Taipei should be held responsible for the deaths of the Chinese mainland.
However, analysts warn that trust between Beijing and Taipei has deteriorated since 1990 and the deaths on February 14 could add to the strains on cross-strait tensions.
“At present, the two sides lack political mutual trust, and many cross-strait issues, including such incidents, have fallen into zero-sum competition,” said Liu Guoshen, a leading Taiwan affairs specialist at Xiamen University.
Mainland coastguards ‘no threat’ if they stay clear of Taiwan’s land forces
He added that Taiwanese authorities must act “cautiously” in handling cross-strait affairs, or else ties between Taipei and Beijing would be “doomed forever”.
Taipei insisted that the boat was not licensed and had entered its “prohibited or restricted waters” near the Quemoy group of islands, also known as Kinmen, just a few nautical miles from the mainland Chinese city of Xiamen.
Officials from both sides have held 11 rounds of talks so far about the incident, but no outcome has been released to the public yet.
Due to the lack of mutual trust … many accidents are overly politicized and are likely to lead to results no one wants to see
Chang Wu-ueh, a professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan, noted that the incident also happened close to the opening of the “two sessions”, mainland China’s annual parliamentary meetings, when Beijing faces more “public opinion pressure” from citizens.
“[The incident] is a result of confrontation or deterioration of cross-strait relations. Due to the lack of mutual trust and understanding, many accidents are overly politicized and are likely to lead to results no one wants to see,” Chang said.
However, when Xi was on the front lines handling the 1990 incident, the political atmosphere was different and “better,” Chang said.
2 mainland Chinese fishermen return home after fatal Taiwanese coastguard chase
