Tensions between Beijing and Taipei escalated as Chinese coast guard officers triggered “panic” by boarding a Taiwanese tourist boat. Taiwan said six Chinese coast guard officers on February 19 boarded a tourist boat carrying 11 crew members and 23 passengers. On February 20, Taiwan drove away a Chinese coast guard boat, numbered 8029, that entered Taiwan’s waters near Kinmen. Taiwan says it dispatched a boat and used radio and broadcast to drive away its Chinese counterpart, which left the area an hour later. The incident occurred just days after two Chinese fishermen, accused of trespassing, were killed while being chased by Taiwan’s Coast Guard. Four people on board fell into the water and two of them died during the chase in the waters near Kinmen, a group of islets in the Taiwan Straits. Meanwhile, Taiwan has signed a $79.2 million deal with France to upgrade its Lafayette-class frigates by 2030, as the island seeks to counter Chinese aggression.