South Korea will use armed military special forces to spearhead its battle against illegal fishing, officials announced yesterday, following the murder of a coast guard officer by a Chinese boat captain.
The officer was stabbed to death and a second wounded on Dec. 12 after they boarded a boat in the Yellow Sea’s rich fishing grounds.
The second death of a coast guard officer at the hands of Chinese fishermen in less than four years sparked widespread anger. Seoul urged Beijing to crack down harder on illegal fishing and lawmakers sought tougher punishment of violators.
The prime minister’s office announced plans to spend 932.4 billion won (US$811 million) between 2012 and 2015 on better equipping its forces as part of a crackdown on poaching.
“Firearms that were provided to only two out of the eight crew on a high-speed vessel were given to everyone last Wednesday,” said Lim Jong-ryong, the head of the office.
Lim said guidelines would be simplified so that officers can use firearms whenever their lives are threatened.
Military special forces will be recruited to serve on Special Sea Attack Teams and 191 new officers would supplement the 342 men currently on the teams.
The office said up to 3,000 Chinese boats fished daily in South Korea’s exclusive economic zone from April to May and October to this month.
About 475 boats have been seized so far this year, compared with 370 for the whole of last year.
When stopped, the crews often fight back with metal pipes and knives or lash their boats together to deter boarders.
South Korea’s 18 high-speed ships patrolling the Yellow Sea will be replaced by faster vessels. The number of larger ships will be increased from 18 to 27.
Chinese crews seen as major offenders will in future have their catches and fishing equipment confiscated, in addition to being fined.
The maximum fine will be doubled to 200 million won, and a repeat offender will face an even larger penalty.
In October, the coast guard said it used tear gas and rubber bullets to subdue Chinese fishermen wielding clubs and shovels. Twenty-one Chinese were detained, but later released after they payed a fine.
In December last year, a Chinese boat overturned and sank in the Yellow Sea after ramming a South Korean coast guard vessel. Two Chinese crewmen were killed.
Three Chinese detained after that incident were freed following protests from Beijing.
In September 2008, a South Korean officer drowned while trying to inspect a Chinese boat.
The Chinese skipper accused of the latest killing has reportedly admitted to the offense and expressed regret.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia
ON ALERT: A Russian cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace for about 40 seconds, the Polish military said, adding that it is constantly monitoring the war to protect its airspace Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western region of Lviv early yesterday came under a “massive” Russian air attack, officials said, while a Russian cruise missile breached Polish airspace, the Polish military said. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with yesterday’s strikes coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske, west of Bakhmut. A militant attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday that killed at least 133 people also became a new flash point between the two archrivals. “Explosions in the capital. Air defense is working. Do not