Tourists who went to watch whales near the shores of Taiwan will remember the trip for a long time. The boat with them was hit by a shell fragment from naval gunfire that took place at the Dafu Proving Ground in Zhuangwei Township, Yilan County, Taiwan. At the same time, the military claims that the ammunition was training and that the ship with tourists did not enter the closed zone.
According to the press of Taiwan, the boat with tourists to watch whales Toucheng “Super Star 3” went out to sea yesterday at 14:30. While the tourists were looking for whales, “a foreign object suddenly fell from the sky, breaking the glass of the captain’s cabin, the iron handrail of the bow was also dented,” the publication quotes. According to the whale-watching operator Jian Mingyi, there were 34 people on board and everyone was in a panic, the boat was quickly deployed to the shore.
An investigation by the relevant units is expected. Until, according to the operator of the boat, the military told them that it was not the fault of the captain of the boat, the boat did not enter the control zone and did not enter the territory where it was declared as a military test firing range. They also assured that the shootings were conducted with blank charges.
At the same time, the Coast Guard stated that the military did not apply for Coast Guard patrols, but the military has a monitoring system. “If a civilian ship breaks into the range, they should stop firing,” they add. A review is underway.
We will remind you that Taiwan and its border waters are another “risky point” of the modern world. Political and military tensions around Taiwan have been rising throughout the year. Therefore, the tourism of the surrounding countries looks at this region with apprehension.