China yesterday summoned Japan’s ambassador for a third time to protest the detention of the captain of a Chinese fishing boat that collided with Japanese patrol vessels near disputed islands, demanding he and his ship be released unconditionally.
China has said the incident could damage bilateral relations, showing the sensitivity of the territorial dispute, one of several that form a troubling undercurrent in China’s relations with its Asian neighbors. As the robust Chinese economy’s demand for resources grows, Beijing’s commercial ships are venturing farther from shore and its more powerful navy is enforcing claims in disputed waters.
The crash occurred on Tuesday after the Chinese ship refused to stop for an inspection by the patrol vessels after repeatedly ignoring their earlier warnings to leave the area, Japan’s coast guard said.
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪) told Japanese Ambassador Uichiro Niwa that 41-year-old captain Zhan Qixiong (詹其雄), his crew and boat had to be freed immediately, a ministry statement said.
Yang “emphasized that the Chinese government’s determination to safeguard the sovereignty of the Diaoyu islands and the nation’s people is firm and steadfast,” it said.
The incident happened off the northwestern coast of Japan’s Kuba island, just north of the disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyutai in Chinese. The islands, about 190km northeast of Taiwan, are controlled by Japan, but are also claimed by China and Taiwan.
The Chinese government said it was sending a law enforcement ship to the islands in the East China Sea — although it was not clear if the vessel would collect the stranded fishermen or patrol the waters.
At a regular news conference on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu (姜瑜) said it was “absurd, illegal and invalid” for Japan to be applying its domestic laws to the case.
Japan’s coast guard has said Zhan could be released in a couple of days if he acknowledges the allegation of obstructing public duties resulting in the collision and pays a fine. If not, he would likely have to stand trial.
The remaining 14 crew members have remained on the fishing boat, the coast guard said. The crew cannot land in Japan because they do not have passports, but are free to return to China if the Chinese send a vessel to pick them up, it said.
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