On 1 July 2016, a

Hsiung Feng III The Hsiung Feng III (HF-3; , "Brave Wind III") is a medium range supersonic missile with capabilities to destroy both land based targets and naval targets developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) in Taiwan ...

missile was accidentally launched from a

Republic of China Navy The Republic of China Navy (ROCN; ), also called the ROC Navy and colloquially the Taiwan Navy, is the maritime branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces (ROCAF). The service was formerly commonly just called the Chinese Navy during World W ...

vessel from waters off Kaohsiung towards Penghu. The missile hit a

fishing boat A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was ...

at 8:40 a.m., killing one person and injuring three.

Chronology

The Chin Chiang PGG-610 () patrol ship was undergoing a regular simulation training exercise for military equipment on the morning of 1 July (Friday) at Zuoying Naval Base in Zuoying District, Kaohsiung. The missile was accidentally launched at 8:00 a.m. during an inspection at the navy base. The missile cruised around for two minutes towards

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

before hitting a Taiwanese fishing boat. The missile did not explode upon impact. The navy sent a helicopter and navy vessels to the area for damage inspection. The mishap killed the Taiwanese boat's captain and injured its three crew members, from Taiwan, the

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and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. The missile did not cross the median line of the

Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. The Taiwan Strait is itself a ...

, which separates Taiwan and mainland China. An investigation of the incident concluded in August 2016. Three ROC naval officers were charged by the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office. The

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

announced in November that the family of captain Huang Wen-chung would be paid NT$34.84 million in compensation. The

Control Yuan The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Prior to constitutional reforms in the 1990s, the Control Yuan, along with National Assembly (electoral college) and the Legislati ...

voted against impeachment proceedings for nine naval officers in July 2017. The Kaohsiung District Court issued its first ruling on the case that September, sentencing Petty Officer Second Class Kao Chia-chun to eighteen months imprisonment, Chief Petty Officer Chen Ming-hsiu to 24 months imprisonment, and Lieutenant Junior Grade Hsu Po-wei to fourteen months imprisonment. The Control Yuan held a second vote and began impeachment proceedings against nine naval officers in February 2018. The next month, the Control Yuan advised that communication between the Executive Yuan and

Ministry of National Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

be improved. The Kaohsiung bench of the Taiwan High Court reduced Chen Ming-hsiu's sentence to 21 months in June 2018.

References

{{reflist 2016 in military history 2016 in Taiwan History of the South China Sea July 2016 events in Asia Military history of Taiwan Non-combat naval accidents Maritime history of Taiwan