(Bloomberg) -- Representatives from Taipei and Beijing reached a settlement of an incident earlier this year that left two Chinese fishermen dead and led to a major shift in how China handles the Taiwanese islets just off its coast.
Under terms of a deal announced Tuesday, the bodies of the victims have been returned to their families, with the vessel handed over to its owners, according to a statement released by the government department in Taipei that handles matters related to China.
Taiwan said it had expressed regret and apologies to the bereaved families numerous times.
Family members of the victims reached a consensus with Taiwan following negotiations over the incident’s aftermath, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency. It confirmed that the bodies had been returned to the mainland on Tuesday, along with the fishing boat.
While the talks bring to a close an episode on Feb. 14 when two Chinese fishermen died because their boat capsized while fleeing a check by Taiwan’s Coast Guard near Kinmen, the incident is likely to loom large in cross-strait ties for a long time.
The boat lacked documentation and identification, according to the statement on Tuesday.
China reacted harshly to the deaths, saying they resulted from the “atrocious behavior” of Taiwan’s ruling party, which Beijing fears is pushing independence. China’s Coast Guard has since stepped up its activity around islets like Kinmen, adding to the ways that Beijing has piled pressure on Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te since he took office in May.
China has started regular patrols around some of Taiwan’s offshore outposts after the fishing boat deaths, including crossing into “restricted waters” that Taipei marked out in 1992. It has also seized a Taiwanese boat and detained two crew members for violating a summer fishing ban, the first time it has stopped a vessel from the archipelago for such activity in 17 years.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council had earlier expressed regret at the “unfortunate incident” but said the action by the Coast Guard was lawful and proper.
China’s moves around Taiwan’s offshore outposts add to the ways that Beijing has showed its displeasure with Lai, most notably by holding major military drills around Taiwan’s main island and peeling off a diplomatic ally.
--With assistance from Li Liu.
(Updates with China’s confirmation of agreement.)
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