Taiwan arrests former Chinese naval captain for illegal entry by boat, says incident could be part of China’s ‘gray zone operations’ – Firstpost

A Chinese man arrested on Sunday for illegally entering a Taipei port on a speedboat is a former navy captain, Taiwanese authorities said, and may have been part of a military investigation into China’s “gray zone” operations against the island.

According to Al-Jazeera According to a report citing Taiwanese authorities, the man was arrested by the Taiwanese coast guard after he crossed the 160-kilometer-long Taiwan Strait, which separates the island nation from China, in his small boat and reached the mouth of the Tamsui River.

The report added that he had told authorities he wanted to defect, but officials said he may have been gauging Taiwan’s reaction to his strategy.

The 60-year-old, who Taiwan says was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy officer surnamed Ruan, is currently being investigated and interrogated.

Kuan Bi-ling, chairman of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council (OAC), which also oversees the coast guard, told reporters in parliament that he was “quite elegant and well-dressed.”

Speaking to reporters, Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo said the boat incident may be another example of China’s “gray zone” operations against the island.

“Gray zone tactics” refer to irregular tactics used to assess an area without open hostilities. This included China sending boats and military aircraft over the self-governing island.

Previously, in March, two Taiwanese fishermen entered Chinese territorial waters when they entered the area around the Kinmen Islands bordering the Chinese coast.

One of the military officers from Taiwan is still being held captive in China, while the other was released shortly afterwards, according to Al-Jazeera.

The latest incident came at a time of rising tensions between China and Taiwan and fears that China could use force to assert its claim to the island.

With contributions from agencies

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