TAIPEI, July 1 (Reuters) - Taiwanese ships off the island's east coast should ignore any boarding and inspection demands by China's Coast Guard, and if necessary Taiwanese Coast Guard vessels will intervene to stop this from happening, a senior official said on Wednesday.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, sent Coast Guard ships last month into the waters off Taiwan's east coast for what it called a "special maritime traffic law-enforcement operation," angering Taipei.
China said the operation was in response to an announcement by **** an and the Philippines that they would begin formal talks on their maritime boundaries, which Beijing viewed as involving Chinese waters off Taiwan.
Taking lawmaker questions in parliament, Hsieh Ching-chin, deputy head of Taiwan's Coast Guard, said if an "incident" happened in those waters, ships should notify Taiwan's Coast Guard and "not respond to the so-called boarding inspections" by Chinese vessels.
"If the situation is urgent, Coast Guard vessels will sail between the two ships to separate them," he added, referring to Taiwanese ships.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, sent Coast Guard ships last month into the waters off Taiwan's east coast for what it called a "special maritime traffic law-enforcement operation," angering Taipei.
China said the operation was in response to an announcement by **** an and the Philippines that they would begin formal talks on their maritime boundaries, which Beijing viewed as involving Chinese waters off Taiwan.
Taking lawmaker questions in parliament, Hsieh Ching-chin, deputy head of Taiwan's Coast Guard, said if an "incident" happened in those waters, ships should notify Taiwan's Coast Guard and "not respond to the so-called boarding inspections" by Chinese vessels.
"If the situation is urgent, Coast Guard vessels will sail between the two ships to separate them," he added, referring to Taiwanese ships.
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