A Taiwanese Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jet prepares to land at an air force base in Hsinchu on October 14, 2024. Agence France-Presse
TAIPEI — Taiwan’s coast guard said Monday it had detained a Chinese man on one of its outlying islands after a possible “intrusion” coinciding with China’s military drills.
“It is not ruled out that the small boat stowaway attempt could be a grey zone intrusion linked to the military exercise,” the coast guard said in a statement, referring to tactics which fall short of a direct act of war.
The man used a rubber boat to make the “illegal crossing” to the tiny island of Menghu on Monday, the coast guard said in a statement.
READ: China says it is launching military drills around Taiwan
Menghu, which is part of the Taipei-administered Kinmen islands, is about six kilometers (four miles) from mainland China’s port city of Xiamen in Fujian province.
Video released by Taiwan’s coast guard showed its personnel tying the man’s wrists with plastic zip ties and escorting him onto a vessel.
The man and his boat were taken to Kinmen for investigation.
READ: Taiwan says on ‘alert’ as China aircraft carrier detected to its south
The coast guard said it had “heightened its vigilance” and was constantly monitoring “security hotspots” and carrying out “real-time tracking of maritime targets”.