Taiwan says it drove away Chinese research ship

Taiwan's coast guard said on Monday that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the island and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities.



The coast guard said that last Thursday it detected the Chinese ship the "Tongji", which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan though just outside restricted waters.



The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast guard sent its own ship in, it said in a statement.



The Taiwanese ship moved in close to create wake interference, and broadcast messages to "forcefully expel the vessel, prohibiting it from conducting related activities".



The "Tongji" then retrieved its survey instruments and altered course, departing from Taiwan's waters, the coast guard said.