China and Taiwan announced on Tuesday they have reached a consensus on a deadly boat incident in February near the remote Taiwanese island of Kinmen.
Two Chinese fishers died after their boat overturned near the Kinmen Island, off the coast of China’s Fujian Province in February. The boat was being pursued by Taiwan’s coast guard at the time.
The island is close to China but effectively controlled by Taiwan. Taiwanese officials said the boat was operating inside what they call “prohibited waters” and that it capsized while trying to flee from the coast guard.
But China called it a malicious incident, and demanded Taiwan pay compensation and punish those in charge.
Following the deal on Tuesday, the bodies of two Chinese fishers were returned to the mainland.
Details of the negotiations have not been made public. But Chiu Chui-cheng, head of the Mainland Affairs Council, which handles measures on China, said Taiwan will pay condolence money to the bereaved family members out of humanitarian considerations.
A Chinese negotiator told reporters that Beijing hopes Taiwan will make public the truth of the incident as soon as possible and take disciplinary actions against those involved.