Taiwan must 'bear the consequences' of water cannon incident, China says

BEIJING/TAIPEI, Oct 14 (Reuters) — Taiwan must "bear the consequences" of its Coast Guard using a water cannon against a Chinese fishing boat near an atoll in the South China Sea, a Chinese government spokesperson said on Wednesday. A Taiwan Coast Guard ship this month fired its water cannon, saying the boat failed to respond to warnings to move away from restricted waters close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands. The ship then suffered engine failure and was towed away by a nearby Chinese vessel, Taiwan's Coast Guard said. Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, said China has "indisputable sovereignty" over the Pratas and surrounding waters. "Mainland vessels operating in the relevant waters are entirely legal and justified. We will resolutely safeguard the lives and property of our people," Chen said. Taiwan's "treatment of mainland vessels roughly in a dangerous manner that endangers the lives and property of the personnel involved is maliciously stirring up cross-strait confrontation and they must bear all consequences arising from this," Chen said, without elaborating on the consequences. A Taiwan official with direct knowledge of the si