A Taiwanese fishing boat that was detained by the Japanese coast guard for allegedly trespassing into waters near Japan's Miyako Islands was released and heading home yesterday, the Fisheries Agency said.
The Yungsheng No. 106 (永昇) from Suao (蘇澳) was released yesterday morning after the captain of the vessel signed an agreement to pay ¥500,000 (US$5,175) to Miyako Islands' fisheries authorities as a guarantee for his presence when the Japanese court holds a hearing on the incident.
The boat, which was chased and rammed by the Japanese coast guard vessel Nobaru on Saturday, was to leave Miyako Islands later yesterday after minor repairs, Fisheries Agency officials said.
The crew, composed of two Taiwanese, a Chinese and six Filipinos, were safe, the agency said.
The Yungsheng No. 106 is expected to arrive in Suao today.
The boat was ordered by the Japanese coast guard to stop for an inspection when it was plying the waters near Miyako Islands, about 300km southwest of Okinawa early on Saturday, the Fisheries Agency said.
When the fishing boat did not stop, the Japanese patrol vessel chased the boat and rammed it, forcing the vessel to stop, agency officials said.
The fishing boat was ordered to sail into the Miyako Islands' main port of Hirara for an investigation at 1:20am on Saturday, the agency said.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official stationed in Okinawa headed to the island on Sunday to gain a better understanding of the incident.
The official asked the Japanese coast guard to produce evidence to back its claims that the vessel was fishing in Japanese waters and asked Japan to release the boat and its crew, Fisheries Agency Director-General James Sha (沙志一) said.
Sha said that the boat was released just one day after being detained because of the concerted efforts of the ministry and the Fisheries Agency.
Ministry officials stationed in Okinawa said the Taiwanese vessel was just passing through Japanese territorial waters and not fishing.
Although the captain signed the agreement, boat owners or captains usually do not bother to travel to Japan to attend hearings, believing that they would have little say in the hearings anyway. If the captain of the boat failed to appear in court, Japanese authorities would keep the bond, Fisheries Agency officials said.
Sha said the Coast Guard Administration had several patrol vessels on standby near the temporary border line between Taiwan and Japan to meet the boat and escort it home.
Sha said that the agency would continue to negotiate with Japanese fisheries authorities to set up an accident reporting and order maintenance mechanism to better protect the interests and rights of Taiwanese fishing boats and crew.
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