A Chinese maritime militia vessel was spotted operating alongside a coast guard ship and a research vessel off Taiwan's eastern coast in August, according to a new surveillance report, marking the first known sighting of such a boat in the strategically sensitive area.
The vessel, identified as Minfudingyu 07902, is a fishing boat that also serves in China's maritime militia, according to the report prepared by Taiwanese aviation company Apex Aviation, seen by Reuters. It was detected in mid-August operating near Chinese coast guard cutter 2502 and research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 03.
