The supersonic Hsiung-feng III ("Brave Wind") antiship missile flew some forty-five miles before striking a Taiwanese fishing trawler, killing the skipper and injuring three crew members.

Beijing's initial reaction was relatively restrained. Although Chinese authorities immediately demanded a "responsible explanation" for the mishap, they did not take steps to shamelessly exploit the situation for propaganda purposes. Later that day, though, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council charged that the incident "caused severe impact at a time when the mainland has repeatedly emphasized development of peaceful cross-strait relations."

More fundamentally, the accident was yet another step in the deterioration of relations between Beijing and Taipei since the election of Democratic Progressive Party president and legislature. Chinese leaders were unhappy about the victory of the DPP's Tsai Ing-wen as Taiwan's new president, even though she was not as strident in her advocacy of formal independence for the island as the last DPP president, Chen Shui-bian, had been.