During a cross fire between U.S. Warship and Somali pirates
A Taiwan seaman was recently gunned in a cross fire between a U.S. Warship and Somali pirates off the coast of Somalia in East African, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) reported.MOEA was informed of the undated incident on May 21.
Wu Lai-yu, captain of Taiwan fishing boat Jih-chun Tsai 68, was taken hostage on March 30, 2010, by Somali pirates. Three Somali pirates were also gunned down. The fishing boat went down with Wu’s body on board. Two mainland Chinese employees were rescued by U.S. forces.
Somali pirates, who mistook the fishing boat as an assault platform, exchanged fire with USS Stephen W. Groves, a U.S. Perry-class guided-missile frigate in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) anti-pirate operations in the Indian Ocean.
Negotiations for the return of the fishing boat and its crew were reportedly making headway when the incident happened.
MOEA is in close contact with the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) over the matter, and will summon AIT official to explain.
Source: The China Post