A Chinese fishing vessel took a brutal pounding from a Taiwanese coast guard water cannon this week during a confrontation near the disputed Dongsha Islands in the South China Sea.
Video of the encounter shows a sustained jet of water hammering the fishing boat’s wheelhouse, engulfing much of the vessel in spray as it moves through the water.
According to Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration, the incident happened October 1 roughly 27 nautical miles east of Dongsha Island, also known as Pratas Island, which is administered by Taiwan but also claimed by Beijing.
Taiwanese authorities said the fishing vessel Jin Sha, along with another mainland Chinese boat, Yue Hui Dong Yu 75066, had anchored about eight nautical miles inside waters Taiwan designates as restricted to mainland vessels. The second boat departed, but the Jin Sha allegedly refused to leave despite three radio warnings.
That’s when things escalated.
The Taiwanese patrol vessel Yunlin first fired its water cannon into the air for roughly 30 seconds as a warning. When that didn’t work, the crew turned the cannon toward the Jin Sha’s wheelhouse for approximately 90 seconds. Officials said operators deliberately aimed away from fishermen standing on deck and stopped spraying once the vessel began leaving the area. No injuries were officially reported.
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The fishing boat subsequently suffered an engine failure and lost power. In an unusual postscript, the same Taiwanese coast guard crew that had just blasted the vessel provided its fishermen with 35 meals after they requested assistance. The disabled boat was eventually towed outside the restricted zone and handed over Friday morning to the Chinese work vessel Haiyang Shiyou 681.
The confrontation comes amid repeated maritime encounters around Dongsha. Taiwan’s coast guard said last month that it had seized nine mainland Chinese small boats in eight cases around the islands during 2026.
Taipei considers waters extending beyond Dongsha’s 12-nautical-mile prohibited zone out to 24 nautical miles restricted. Beijing does not recognize those restrictions.
Whatever the larger territorial dispute, the footage itself is striking.
That fishing boat got one very forceful message: “LEAVE NOW.”
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