Taiwan declares China’s capture of fishing trawler an ‘act of psychological warfare’

Trawler with five fishermen onboard was seized after it reportedly sailed into Chinese waters

Boats near Jinshan in New Taipei City (Getty)

China’s seizure of a Taiwanese trawler is likely an act of psychological warfare to build pressure on the island’s government amid rising tensions in the region, Taiwanese officials claimed on Thursday.

The boat was captured after it reportedly sailed into Chinese waters on Tuesday.

Taipei is working to have the boat released, the officials said.

There were five fishermen onboard, three of them Indonesian.

They were fishing for squid in the waters near the Kinmen islands, the officials said.

Kinmen lies just off China’s coast but is controlled by Taiwan.

China reacted strongly to the vessel’s presence in its waters and said it violated a summer ban on fishing.

It accused Taiwan of carrying out illegal trawling in Chinese waters.

Taiwan Coast Guard Administration official Ching-Chin Hsieh explains the case of a fishing boat seized by China’s coast guard during a news conference in Taipei (AFP via Getty)

Tsai Ming-yen, director general of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, claimed it was unusual for Chinese officials to board and detain a Taiwanese trawler.

"We must continue to analyse whether this is a cognitive warfare operation and will fully assess what the motivations are for the Chinese communists," Tsai said.

Taiwan’s coast guard said China has seized Taiwanese trawlers before for illegal fishing but released them after fines were paid.

Chiu Chui-cheng, a top Taiwanese official for China affairs, said Taipei will work to get the boat and its fishermen released.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Wednesday confirmed the seizure of the boat and called it an act of "normal law enforcement" to protect fishery resources and the environment.

It said the boat was engaged in illegal fishing. "The relevant departments will deal with it in accordance with the law and regulations.”

The capture of the boat comes as a time of heightened tensions in the region.

China and Taiwan have been engaged in a diplomatic war of words especially since Lai Ching-te took over as Taiwan’s president in May.

Beijing, which considers Taiwan an integral part of its territory, has accused Mr Lai of being a "separatist", meaning that he wants to prevent the island’s unification with the mainland.