Taiwanese freighter collides with Chinese Warship

A Taiwanese freighter collided with an unidentified Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warship on July 31, according to the Taiwan Coast Guard.

The two vessels clashed while they were underway some 20 nautical southeast of Taiwan-controlled Kinmen island off China’s southeast coast.

There were no reports of injuries following the incident.

The Coast Guard said it established contact with the Chinese warship but the ship’s captain refused to cooperate in an investigation into the accident.

The freighter Yutai No.1 headed to the Liao Luo Port on the Kinmen island group for inspection and repairs following the collision.

The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a “rogue province”. While not necessarily related, the Chinese Navy is said to have organized large-scale military drills near the Taiwan Strait following the collision.

China has also announced it would no longer issue individual travel permits to Taiwan, citing “cross-strait relations” as the reason.