Sinking of the trawler "Chian-der 3"
The Taiwanese trawler Chian-der 3 was chased on May 28, 1986 by a patrol boat of the Argentine Coast Guard , the “Prefecto Derbes” , and shot at 24 nautical miles outside the British exclusion zone of 150 nautical miles around the Falkland Islands , whereby the trawler caught fire. Two Taiwanese fishermen were killed and four others were injured.
The immediate vicinity of the Argentine exclusive economic zone to the exclusion zone around the Falkland Islands for Argentine ships declared by Great Britain as a result of the Falklands War was, according to Argentine information, exploited by many fishing fleets to fish illegally in the zone and to evade pursuit.
According to Argentine information, the Taiwanese Chi-Fu 6 was first discovered at 11:45 am while fishing in the Argentine zone; the ship fled to the British exclusion zone. At 6:25 p.m. the Chian-der 3 was discovered within the Argentine 200-mile zone, her captain refused to stop the ship, whereupon targeted shots were fired at the trawler with a machine gun. At 9:05 p.m., the Argentine commander saw the trawler stop and smoke rising from the engine room. He then initiated rescue measures.
The Taiwanese fishermen's union called the act "barbaric" and the UK condemned it as "unjustified and excessive".
Web links
- Argentina culpa al capitán del pesquero taiwanés ya Londres por el suceso del Atlántico ; El País dated May 31, 1986 in Spanish
- Un guardacostas argentino dogs un pesquero de Taiwan en aguas reclamadas por Buenos Aires ; El País dated May 30, 1986 in Spanish