Seizing on the turmoil caused by a weekend military uprising, two Taiwanese fishing boats escaped Monday from a Philippine port where they had been detained on charges of illegal fishing, Taiwanese officials and media reports said.
Philippine Navy ships were chasing the boats after the vessels left the northern port of Aparri in Cagayan province, with their five crewmen just before dawn on Monday, the semiofficial Central News Agency quoted Taiwanese fishery official Tsai Fu-rong. The boats were still in Philippine waters, Tsai was quoted as saying.
Foreign Ministry official Lin Sung-huan told reporters that the ships were able to escape because of the chaos caused by the brief military mutiny over the weekend.
Last week, four other detained Taiwanese fishing boats fled Aparri after a typhoon hit the area. The boats returned to Tungkang port in southern Taiwan last weekend.
Taiwan’s coast guard said it has dispatched a helicopter and patrol boats to Bashi Channel south of Taiwan to provide escort in case the boats managed to elude the Philippine Navy.
The two fishing boats were detained by the Philippine Navy in May for alleged illegal fishing. The seas between Taiwan and the Philippines are rich fishing grounds for tuna, but they are claimed by both governments as territorial waters.
The detained fishermen have complained that Taiwanese authorities have made no effort to seek their release. But Taiwanese officials have said the Philippines has refused to negotiate with them.