China's government said on Wednesday that its coast guard patrols around a group of Taiwanese islands near the Chinese coast were "beyond reproach", and dismissed complaints the boarding of a Taiwan tourist boat had caused panic. China's coast guard this month began regular patrols around the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands, which face China's Xiamen and Quanzhou cities, where two Chinese nationals died trying to flee Taiwan's coast guard after their boat entered prohibited waters.
Taiwan on Tuesday protested China’s boarding of a tourist boat, as tensions rise around the Kinmen archipelago, which lies a short distance off China's coast but is controlled by Taiwan. Taiwanese media reported the King Xia, carrying 11 crew and 23 passengers, was boarded by the Chinese coast guard for about 32 minutes on Monday. Taiwan's coast guard escorted the boat back to Kinmen, and it then continued its sight-seeing voyage.
Rest of World News: The boarding of a Taiwanese tourist boat by China's coast guard near sensitive frontline islands triggered 'panic' among Taiwan's people, a government minister said on Tuesday.
Four people, including a child, are confirmed dead after a tourist boat sank off the coast of Cancun, Mexico, Monday evening. Seven people remain missing, officials said.