Taiwan sends patrol boats to disputed waters

TAIWAN: Taiwan sent three patrol boats to waters off a disputed island chain Tuesday to bring back 16 people whose leisure boat sank, reportedly after being rammed by a Japanese vessel, coast guards said.

Taipei said it had expressed its concerns to Tokyo and hoped the three crew and 13 passengers on board the "Lien Ho" would be returned as soon as possible. All 16 had been rescued and taken to a nearby Japanese island, coast guards said.

"The three patrol boats are cruising in waters 12 nautical miles off the Diaoyu Islands, waiting for the results of negotiations through the diplomatic channels," Hsu Han-ching, an official with Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration, told AFP.

"We hope to get the 16 people back as swiftly as possible."

The leisure boat sank early Tuesday some six nautical miles (11 kilometres) off the islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Taiwan and Senkaku in Japan, Hsu said. The island chain, rich in oil deposits, is claimed by all three.

"We received a phone call for help from the family of the skipper at 2:23 am, saying the ship was rammed by a Japanese patrol boat and sinking," Hsu said.

Taipei, Tuesday, AFP