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Taiwan arrests previous Chinese navy captain whose speedboat went into Taipei harbour

A Chinese male jailed after his speedboat unlawfully entered a Taipei harbour is a former navy captain who could have been penetrating the island's defences, senior Taiwanese authorities stated on Tuesday.

Taiwan's coast guard apprehended the guy on Sunday at the seaside neighbourhood of Tamsui after his boat went into a river that leads into Taipei, an event that happened amidst ongoing tensions in between Taiwan and China.

China sees the democratically governed island as its own territory, a claim Taipei declines.

Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council, which runs the coast guard, told press reporters at parliament that the man was quite refined and well provided and had formerly served as a Chinese navy captain.

Over the previous year or two there have been 18 comparable cases, mainly involving Taiwan managed islands that sit beside the Chinese coast, Kuan said.

Taking a look at the built up cases in the past, we can't rule out that this is a test, she stated, describing Taiwan's. abilities to find such vessels.

Neither China's Taiwan Affairs Office nor its defence. ministry right away reacted to ask for remark.

Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo, also speaking to. reporters at parliament, stated the boat incident could be another. example of China's grey zone techniques versus the island.

Taiwan has grumbled over the last few years that China has been. using so-called grey zone warfare created to exhaust an enemy by. irregular strategies without turning to open combat, such as. floating monitoring balloons over the island.

These grey zone techniques have actually always existed, Koo stated. We. need to always preserve our caution and can not rule out the. possibility of taking countermeasures.

In March, 2 Taiwanese anglers strayed into Chinese. waters near the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands, which sit next. to China's coast. One, a Taiwanese military officer, remains in. detention in China, while the other was released soon after.

(source: Reuters)