A Chinese fishing boat sank near a remote Taiwanese island in the early hours of Thursday, killing two and prompting joint rescue efforts by the mainland and Taipei for two missing crew members, the island's coast guard said.
The mainland vessel carrying six crew members sank 1.98 kilometers southwest of Dongding Island in Taiwan-controlled Kinmen County, near the Chinese province of Fujian, the Coast Guard Administration said, adding two people were rescued.
It remains unknown what caused the boat to capsize. Taiwan has dispatched four vessels and the mainland sent six for the rescue operations, the island's authority said.
Cross-strait tensions have been rising since a Feb. 14 incident that triggered the deaths of two Chinese fishermen near Kinmen after their boat was chased by Taiwanese authorities and capsized.
Taiwan claims the Chinese boat was in prohibited waters. Beijing, which regards the democratic island as part of its territory, has since increased patrol operations in the sea area.
Kinmen was the site of several major historical clashes following a civil war that resulted in mainland China and Taiwan becoming separately governed since they split in 1949.
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