Taiwanese Naval Vessel and Chinese Ship Involved in Collision in Taiwan Strait

A Taiwanese Navy landing ship had a run-in with a Chinese fishing boat in the Taiwan Strait on March 27, 2025. This mishap took place about 45 nautical miles from Taichung port and just outside restricted waters.

The vessel involved was the Chung Ho, part of Taiwan’s zhonghe-class tank landing fleet, which collided with the Chinese trawler Minlianyu 61756 shortly after midnight. Thankfully, both ships emerged from the incident without any injuries reported among their crews. While thay did sustain some damage, it didn’t hinder their ability to navigate.

Following the collision, Taiwan’s Coast Guard jumped into action to gather evidence and investigate what happened. The Navy is also looking into the incident to figure out who might be at fault but hasn’t shared many specifics yet.

On China’s side, a spokesperson for their State Council criticized Taiwan’s actions as “vile behavior” while confirming that Beijing is conducting its own investigation into the matter. A representative from China’s Defense Ministry brushed off rumors suggesting that the fishing boat was spying; they emphasized that more information is needed before jumping to conclusions.

Taiwan has been keeping an eye on various Chinese vessels operating close to its waters lately. Authorities are concerned that some of these boats could be monitoring military activities or engaging in unauthorized operations.

Recently reported suspicious activities include:

• Chinese research ships deploying equipment in restricted zones.
• Foreign-registered vessels owned by China lingering near Taiwanese waters.
• A fuel barge detained for lacking proper identification—dubbed a “three-no” vessel (no name, home port, or registration).

The Taiwan Strait has seen its fair share of maritime incidents involving Chinese ships over recent years. For instance:

In february 2024, a Chinese fishing boat capsized near Kinmen Islands while being chased by Taiwan’s Coast Guard for alleged trespassing; tragically, two fishermen lost their lives and two others were