Captain held by S. Korea over killing
Source: Agencies |
December 13, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A CHINESE fishing captain fatally stabbed a South Korean coast guard officer and wounded another yesterday after they stopped his boat for illegally fishing in crab-rich South Korean waters, Korean officials said.
South Korea lodged a strong protest with Zhang Xinsen, the Chinese ambassador, over the incident - the first deadly clash between the South Korean coast guard and Chinese fishermen in three years.
China's Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, urged South Korea to safeguard the rights of the fishermen it detained.
Officers from two coast guard ships boarded the fishing boat over suspicions it was illegally operating in Yellow Sea waters rich in blue crabs, anchovies and croaker, when the captain attacked with an unidentified weapon, coast guard spokesman Kim Dong-jin said.
A South Korean officer stabbed in the side was taken by helicopter to a hospital in the port city of Incheon but later died, Kim said. The other officer was stabbed in the abdomen and was to undergo surgery. The Chinese captain had minor injuries from the fight and was also taken to the hospital, he said.
Besides the captain, eight other fishermen on the boat were arrested and taken to Incheon, the coast guard said in a statement.
Irregularities
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said China will work closely with South Korea on the case. He told a daily news conference that Chinese authorities had taken steps to better educate fishermen "to prohibit cross-border fishing and irregularities."
Liu called on South Korea to fully protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese fishermen and provide them with due humanitarian treatment.
Last week, South Korean authorities raised fines levied on foreign fishing vessels caught operating in Seoul's self-declared exclusive economic zone, an apparent reflection of the government's impatience with a rising number of Chinese boats found fishing in the waters.
The coast guard says it has seized about 470 Chinese ships for illegal fishing in the Yellow Sea so far this year, up from 370 last year. The coast guard usually releases the ships after a fine is paid, though violence occasionally occurs.
Chinese fishing fleets have been going farther afield to feed growing domestic demand for seafood.
With some 300,000 fishing vessels and 8 million fishermen, the Chinese fishing industry is by far the world's largest, producing an annual catch in excess 17 million tons. But catches have decreased in waters close to China's shores, forcing the fleet to venture farther.
South Korea lodged a strong protest with Zhang Xinsen, the Chinese ambassador, over the incident - the first deadly clash between the South Korean coast guard and Chinese fishermen in three years.
China's Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, urged South Korea to safeguard the rights of the fishermen it detained.
Officers from two coast guard ships boarded the fishing boat over suspicions it was illegally operating in Yellow Sea waters rich in blue crabs, anchovies and croaker, when the captain attacked with an unidentified weapon, coast guard spokesman Kim Dong-jin said.
A South Korean officer stabbed in the side was taken by helicopter to a hospital in the port city of Incheon but later died, Kim said. The other officer was stabbed in the abdomen and was to undergo surgery. The Chinese captain had minor injuries from the fight and was also taken to the hospital, he said.
Besides the captain, eight other fishermen on the boat were arrested and taken to Incheon, the coast guard said in a statement.
Irregularities
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said China will work closely with South Korea on the case. He told a daily news conference that Chinese authorities had taken steps to better educate fishermen "to prohibit cross-border fishing and irregularities."
Liu called on South Korea to fully protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese fishermen and provide them with due humanitarian treatment.
Last week, South Korean authorities raised fines levied on foreign fishing vessels caught operating in Seoul's self-declared exclusive economic zone, an apparent reflection of the government's impatience with a rising number of Chinese boats found fishing in the waters.
The coast guard says it has seized about 470 Chinese ships for illegal fishing in the Yellow Sea so far this year, up from 370 last year. The coast guard usually releases the ships after a fine is paid, though violence occasionally occurs.
Chinese fishing fleets have been going farther afield to feed growing domestic demand for seafood.
With some 300,000 fishing vessels and 8 million fishermen, the Chinese fishing industry is by far the world's largest, producing an annual catch in excess 17 million tons. But catches have decreased in waters close to China's shores, forcing the fleet to venture farther.
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