Taiwan drove away a China Coast Guard vessel that entered waters near a remote Taiwanese island, Taipei said Tuesday, as cross-strait tensions rise following the deaths of two Chinese fishermen last week when their boat was chased by Taiwanese authorities.

The Chinese vessel entered waters near Kinmen, just a couple of kilometers away from Xiamen, a port city in the Chinese province of Fujian, at 9:05 a.m. and departed an hour later after a Taiwanese boat drove it away using radio and broadcast equipment, Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration said.

Just a day earlier, China inspected a Taiwanese sightseeing vessel in the area, with Chinese coast guard officers checking its route plan, certificate and the licenses of its captain and crew.

Earlier Tuesday, Taiwan's premier, Chen Chien-jen, called on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to be "rational" and cooperate to jointly maintain security in the sea area.

The sightseeing vessel had 11 crew members and 23 passengers and was about 5.2 km northwest of Kinmen's Wushajiao when it was intercepted by two Chinese coast guard boats at 4:47 p.m. Monday, Taiwan's coast guard said, adding Chinese officials left around 30 minutes later.

Passengers were alarmed at the inspection and fearful that they could not return to Taiwan, according to the island's media.

Last Wednesday, a Chinese fishing boat from Fujian capsized in waters near Kinmen after it was expelled by Taiwanese authorities, with all four crew members ending up in the water. The two surviving fishermen were detained on the remote island before being deported Tuesday, according to Taiwanese media.

Taipei claims the Chinese boat was in prohibited waters. Following the incident, Beijing said Sunday it will increase patrol operations in the area.

Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council, has condemned the island's ruling, independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party over the incident, saying the DPP government has been "forcibly detaining mainland fishing boats" and "rudely treated" Chinese fishermen.

Kinmen was the site of several major historical clashes following a civil war that saw mainland China and Taiwan become separately governed from 1949. Beijing regards the self-ruled island as part of its territory.

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