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A 26-year-old Taiwanese soldier who was reported missing on Mar. 9 after not showing up for a morning roll call on the island of Erdan was confirmed to be rescued by the Chinese coast guard the next day.

Taiwanese media China Times reported that he was found floating in a life jacket near the waters of neighbouring Sandan Island.

Taiwan's Kinmen Defence Command issued a press release on Mar. 9, stating that the missing soldier, going by the surname Chen, was a cook and belonged to the Lieyu Garrison Battalion.

Father denies debt and relationship issues

Rumours of Chen's rescue by China coast guard spread like wildfire the next day (Mar. 10), and there were allegations that he decided to swim to China because of debt and relationship issues.

On the same evening, Taiwan's Army Command Headquarters claimed that they had not received any confirmation from any authority that he was found and would have to investigate before drawing conclusions, FTV News reported.

Taiwan opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) legislator Chen Yu-Jen, representative of Kinmen County, confirmed on Mar. 11 that the missing soldier is safe in Xiamen, China,

Chiu Tai-san, head of the Mainland Affairs Council, has since confirmed on Mar. 13 that they have received confirmation from China, TVBS News reported.

The reason for the soldier's desertion is still unknown, but his father had denied allegations of debt and relationship problems. He said his son had no financial issues and only had a loan of TW$300,000 (S$13,195) for school fees.

"Frontlines of frontlines"

Erdan, along with Dadan and Sandan Island, is located less than 5 km away from the Chinese province of Fujian. They are collectively dubbed the "frontlines of frontlines" by Taiwanese media.

Taiwanese military presence on the islands dates back to 1949, after the Chinese civil war.

They were sites of major battles during the early years of the Cold War and bore the brunt of artillery fire exchanges for many years after.

Another island's soldiers claim lack of food

This is the second major military-related incident on Taiwan's offshore islands this month.

Taiwanese SET News reported that Taiwanese soldiers on Juguang Island, further to the north and around 20km off China's coast, complained about their lack of food.

A resident had taken photos of messages written by soldiers on the beach, claiming that they had run out of meat and could only have rice, canned food and instant noodles.

Taiwan's military confirmed the incident on Mar. 6.

It claimed that a civilian supply boat responsible for sending frozen meat to the island had broken down and it will arrange a C-130 military transport to send supplies.

Image via Youtube TVBS