Japan seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its skipper, authorities said yesterday, an incident that could deepen a spat between the Asian giants.
China swiftly reacted to the seizure, the Japanese Fisheries Agency’s first since 2022 of a Chinese fishing boat, by urging Tokyo to protect the rights of Chinese crew.
“It is hoped Japan strictly respects the China-Japan fisheries agreement, fairly enforces the law, and safeguards the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese crew members,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian (林劍) told a news conference.
Photo: AFP / Japan’s Fisheries Agency
The agency said the vessel’s captain was ordered to stop for an inspection, but the boat “failed to comply and fled.”
“Consequently, the vessel’s captain was arrested on the same day,” the agency added.
The boat was inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone 89.4 nautical miles (166 km) south-southwest of Meshima Island in the Goto archipelago, Japan’s statement said — not a disputed area.
The captain was named as Chinese national Zheng Nianli, 47. The status of the other 10 people on board the vessel, Qiong Dong Yu, was unclear.
“To prevent illegal fishing operations by foreign vessels, we will continue to take firm action and engage in enforcement activities,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said.
China has a number of territorial tussles with Japan, and there have been repeated incidents around the Senkaku Islands, known as Diaoyutais (釣魚台列嶼).
Japan and China have close economic ties, but Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments about Taiwan have sent relations spiraling downward again.
President William Lai (賴清德) this week said that other countries — including Japan — would be China’s next targets should Beijing seize the nation.
“The next countries under threat would be Japan, the Philippines, and others in the Indo-Pacific region, with repercussions eventually reaching the Americas and Europe,” Lai said.
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