Japan’s coast guard yesterday said it has arrested two Chinese boat skippers in separate cases of suspected illegal fishing in Japanese waters.
Officials said a 39-year-old skipper was arrested on Tuesday for alleged coral poaching off the Goto Islands near Kyushu and a second skipper was arrested on Wednesday near the Ogasawara islands, 1,000km south of Tokyo.
They said both allegedly ignored calls to stop for inspection, prompting a chase.
If convicted, the skippers could face up to six months in jail or a fine of up to ￥300,000 (US$3,840).
The arrests are a possible fresh test for sometimes fraught maritime relations, just days after a South Korean officer was stabbed to death at sea.
On Tuesday, a coast guard vessel pursued the fisherman’s 130 tonne boat for more than six hours after it was spotted lowering ropes into the water about 4km off the Goto Islands.
Japanese officers found some coral and tools to collect the organisms on the boat, but they have yet to determine whether they were taken from Japanese territorial waters, the coast guard said.
The boat’s captain, Zhong Jinyin (鍾進音), 39, was taken to the coast guard’s Nagasaki office while investigators inspected the boat, which had 10 other crew on board, a spokesman said.
The coast guard approached the boat at about 10:30pm on Monday, prompting the Chinese to flee, despite repeated Japanese orders to stop.
In total, five coast guard vessels took turns to chase the Chinese vessel until about 5 am, when the boat was stopped for an onboard inspection.
“We used a speed boat to bring the boat’s captain to [the coast guard’s office in] Nagasaki. The on-site investigation of the vessel is continuing, before we move the ship and the rest of the crew,” a spokesman said. “We are not experiencing any disobedient behavior from the captain.”
The latest arrest comes as Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is scheduled to visit Beijing for two days, starting on Sunday.
China called on Japan to respect the rights of the fishermen.
“We have asked the Japanese side to ensure the safety of the Chinese crew and the boat, and ensure their legitimate rights and interests,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin (劉為民) told a press briefing.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
RSS