Ministry of National Defense officials and Navy Command Headquarters confirmed one fatality and three persons injured aboard the Hsiang Li Sheng (翔利昇), a Taiwanese fishing boat, when the vessel was struck by a missile in waters southeast of Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait.
Fishing boat captain Huang Wen-chung (黃文忠) was killed when the supersonic Hsiung Feng III missile penetrated the stern of the vessel. The missile did not explode on impact and sank into the water about 40 nautical miles (74.1km) from its launch site at Zuoying Military Harbor in Kaohsiung.
The captain’s son, Huang Ming-chuan (黃明泉), as well as a Vietnamese crew member and a Filipino crew member, sustained minor injuries and were treated at a local hospital.
Photo: CNA
The vessel was towed back to Kaohsiung Harbor with the help of coast guard patrol ships.
The stern of the fishing boat has a hole where the missile penetrated the vessel, causing the boat’s electrical wiring box to explode.
Huang Ming-chuan said they were trawling for shrimp about 16 nautical miles west of Chimei Islet, adding that at the time of the incident, he and two crew members were sleeping while his father piloted the ship.
Photo: CNA
“We were woken by a loud explosion and I saw the ship’s ceiling collapse. I was hit by some debris and cut, then the cabin caught fire,” he said.
Huang Ming-chuan said he went to check the pilot room and found his father dead, having apparently suffered head injuries.
He said that he used a satellite telephone to call his family in Kaohsiung, saying: “The ship has exploded, and father has died. Now the ship is sinking, get help to save us quickly.”
At a news conference called by Naval Command Headquarters, officials said the missile that hit the fishing ship did not explode on impact, because it was designed to attack warships and explode on impact with a metal hull. As the Hsiang Li Sheng is made of wood, fiberglass and other lightweight materials, the missile penetrated the stern without exploding.
Naval officials said the electronic signals emitted by the fishing boat might have caused the missile’s radar guidance system to lock onto it as a target.
The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office has opened an investigation into the incident to determine if there is a case for criminal prosecution.
“The Ministry of National Defense sincerely apologizes for the incident that caused the death of the captain and injured the other crew members,” ministry spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said, adding that the ministry has also asked the navy to provide compensation and assistance to the families of the victims.
Meanwhile, during a legislative floor session yesterday, Premier Lin Chuan (林全) expressed sadness over the death of the captain and regret over the incident.
He said he has asked his deputy to meet with the victim’s family.
Vice Premier Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) traveled to Kaohsiung on behalf of the premier to comfort the deceased captain’s family and express his condolences.
“First of all, I would like to offer my condolences to the Huang family on behalf of Premier Lin Chuan, and show the government cares about this accident,” he said. “The premier has asked the military to investigate how the accident occurred as soon as possible.”
“The government will shoulder 100 percent of the responsibility when the investigation is completed,” he added.
Additional reporting by Loa Iok-sin and CNA
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
‘BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS’: The US military’s aim is to continue to make any potential Chinese invasion more difficult than it already is, US General Ronald Clark said The likelihood of China invading Taiwan without contest is “very, very small” because the Taiwan Strait is under constant surveillance by multiple countries, a US general has said. General Ronald Clark, commanding officer of US Army Pacific (USARPAC), the US Army’s largest service component command, made the remarks during a dialogue hosted on Friday by Washington-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Asked by the event host what the Chinese military has learned from its US counterpart over the years, Clark said that the first lesson is that the skill and will of US service members are “unmatched.” The second
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS