The owners of a Taiwan squid trawler which was fired on and seized by the Argentine Navy last Friday have vowed to fight for justice for the vessel and its crew, fishery industry sources said here yesterday. This information was released as Argentina's president praised his military for defending his country's territory.
Sources in Taiwan claimed that the incident was caused by misunderstandings and the language barrier.
The Kaohsiung-based Hou Chun 101 was fired upon and seized by the Argentine navy after it was accused of illegally fishing in the Argentinean economic zone and attempting to flee upon being discovered.
The vessel was allegedly found fishing three miles inside Argentina's 200-mile economic zone late Friday night by the Argentine Navy corvette Spiro which chased the trawler for the next 12 hours before firing warning shots to force the ship to stop.
The boat was brought to Mar del Plata on Tuesday where federal judge Mario Robbio will investigate the incident. The ship may be fined up to US$2 million for fishing illegally within Argentina's economic zone.
But according to Chang Shu-ping, secretary-general of the Taiwan Ocean-Going Squid Association, Hou Chun 101 was operating near Argentina's waters last Friday when it received warning shots from a naval vessel.
Chang said the trawler has a global positioning system and all the data until Feb. 4 showed that it had not intruded into Argentina's economic zone. It fled after being warned because it believed that it had accidentally entered a "gray area," he said.
Chang said the trawler will fight for its rights and justice using the maritime data it has recorded as evidence.
The boat's owners in Kaohsiung have contacted Taiwan's representative office in Argentina for help and are hiring legal personnel and translators to fight its case, added Chang.
The defense came as Argentine President Fernando de la Rua told his defense minister on Tuesday to congratulate the navy for its actions.
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