The Guardian-Beijing condemns Taiwan after two Chinese fishers die in speedboat crash

Taiwanese coast guards inspect the boat that capsized off the coast of the Kinmen archipelago in Taiwan.

Beijing has condemned Taiwanese authorities after two Chinesefishers drowned while being chased by Taiwan’s coastguard off the coast of the Kinmen archipelago.

The Chinese speedboat was carrying four people when it capsized on Wednesday, throwing all onboard into the water, Chinese and Taiwanese authorities said.

“The malignant incident severely harmed the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan affairs office, said in a statement.

Taiwan’s coastguard said the speedboat had “illegally [entered] Taiwanese waters”, CNA news agency reported.

The coastguard “immediately requested that the boat submit to an inspection, but it resisted and capsized as it sped away”, CNA said.

Beijing has urged the Taiwanese authorities to immediately investigate the incident, Zhu added.

CNA said all four were rescued from the water and sent to hospital.

“Two were pronounced dead after efforts to resuscitate them failed,” the coastguard said. “The other two are in stable condition and have been brought to Kinmen for further investigation by prosecutors.”

The Kinmen islands are controlled by Taiwan but lie within sight of China’s coast.

China claims democratic Taiwan as its own, although it has no sovereignty over the territory of 23 million people and its adjacent islands.

The incident comes against a backdrop of high tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan’s presidential election, held in January, was won by the ruling Democratic Progressive party’s Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing regards as a “separatist”.

Xi Jinping, China’s president, has ceaselessly called for the reunification of Taiwan with China, which split nearly 75 years ago at the end of a civil war in 1949.