BANGKOK — Two fishermen from Communist China have drowned while being chased by Free China’s Coast Guard off the coast of Taiwan’s Kinmen archipelago, the coast guard said Wednesday.

The deaths are unusual despite the level of Chinese activity in the waters near Kinmen, which is closer to the Chinese mainland than it is to Taiwan’s principal island. It was unclear whether the incident would prompt an escalation of tensions between the Communist regime and the self-ruling island democracy.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office strongly condemned the deaths and called for an investigation, saying “such a malicious event during the Spring Festival seriously hurts the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.” Both mainland China and Taiwan are celebrating the Lunar New Year holiday.

The statement accused the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan of using “all sorts of excuses to forcefully inspect Chinese fishing vessels, and using violent and dangerous methods towards Chinese fishermen.”

The unnamed Chinese vessel had been trespassing Wednesday afternoon by sailing about one nautical mile off the coast of an islet of Kinmen island, Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said in a statement. The mainland Chinese vessel attempted to flee but capsized.

Four fishermen fell into the water and two survived and are in “good shape,” while resuscitation efforts on the other two failed, the vice captain of the coast guard in Kinmen, Chen Jien-wen, told a local TV channel.

The Coast Guard said the fishermen’s families were being contacted via official channels. It said the case has been reported to the Kinmen prosecutor’s office.

Kinmen is in the Taiwan Strait that separates China and Taiwan. From some parts of the archipelago, the southern Chinese city of Xiamen is visible to the naked eye.

Communist China claims all of Taiwan as part of its territory.

Kinmen residents in recent years have reported seeing an increase in sand dredger vessels from China, which take sand from the ocean floor, as well as fishing ships, close to its coast. At times, dozens of the ships can be seen from the island.

Updated with comment from the mainland Chinese government.