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China Says Seoul Owes Damages in SeaRow
By JEREMY PAGE
BEIJING—China expressed "grave concern" and demanded compensation Tuesday over a weekend clash between Chinese fishermen and South Korean coast guards in the Yellow Sea which resulted in the death of one of the fishermen.
It was Beijing's first official comment since South Korean officials reported that a Chinese fishing boat had capsized Saturday after ramming a South Korean patrol ship, leaving one Chinese crew member dead and another missing.
The Chinese boat was among about 50 that were fishing illegally in South Korean waters, according to South Korean officials, who also accused some of the other fishermen of fighting the coast guards with metal pipes, shovels and clubs.
The clash follows a fierce diplomatic dispute between Japan and China in September that was triggered by Japan's detention of a Chinese fishing boat and its crew following a collision with a Japanese coast-guard vessel near disputed islands in the East China Sea.
Chinese state media had played down Saturday's incident in an apparent effort not to escalate tensions in a region that has been on edge since a North Korean artillery raid on a South Korean island last month.
But China broke its silence Tuesday after North Korea announced that it would not retaliate against a South Korean artillery test Monday and would allow U.N. inspectors to examine its nuclear sites.
"The Chinese side expresses its grave concern about the incident," Jiang Yu, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told a regular news briefing in Beijing.
She said China had "made solemn representations" to South Korea, and called on it to rescue the missing fishermen, punish the perpetrators, offer compensation for the loss of life and property, and ensure that such incidents do not happen again.
She did note that South Korea had immediately deployed rescue ships and helicopters to the scene, and that they were still searching for the missing fisherman.
However, her strongly worded statement could exacerbate concern in South Korea and among other neighbors that China is deliberately sending its fishing boats into foreign or disputed waters to help meet domestic demand.
More than 300 Chinese fishing boats are captured for fishing illegally in South Korean waters every year, according to South Korea's coast guard.
In 2008, one South Korean coast guard officer was killed and six others injured in a scuffle with Chinese fishermen fishing in South Korean waters.
Over the last year, China has also been reasserting its territorial claims to almost all of the South China Sea, alarming several Southeast Asian nations which claim parts of it.
By JEREMY PAGE
BEIJING—China expressed "grave concern" and demanded compensation Tuesday over a weekend clash between Chinese fishermen and South Korean coast guards in the Yellow Sea which resulted in the death of one of the fishermen.
It was Beijing's first official comment since South Korean officials reported that a Chinese fishing boat had capsized Saturday after ramming a South Korean patrol ship, leaving one Chinese crew member dead and another missing.
The Chinese boat was among about 50 that were fishing illegally in South Korean waters, according to South Korean officials, who also accused some of the other fishermen of fighting the coast guards with metal pipes, shovels and clubs.
The clash follows a fierce diplomatic dispute between Japan and China in September that was triggered by Japan's detention of a Chinese fishing boat and its crew following a collision with a Japanese coast-guard vessel near disputed islands in the East China Sea.
Chinese state media had played down Saturday's incident in an apparent effort not to escalate tensions in a region that has been on edge since a North Korean artillery raid on a South Korean island last month.
But China broke its silence Tuesday after North Korea announced that it would not retaliate against a South Korean artillery test Monday and would allow U.N. inspectors to examine its nuclear sites.
"The Chinese side expresses its grave concern about the incident," Jiang Yu, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told a regular news briefing in Beijing.
She said China had "made solemn representations" to South Korea, and called on it to rescue the missing fishermen, punish the perpetrators, offer compensation for the loss of life and property, and ensure that such incidents do not happen again.
She did note that South Korea had immediately deployed rescue ships and helicopters to the scene, and that they were still searching for the missing fisherman.
However, her strongly worded statement could exacerbate concern in South Korea and among other neighbors that China is deliberately sending its fishing boats into foreign or disputed waters to help meet domestic demand.
More than 300 Chinese fishing boats are captured for fishing illegally in South Korean waters every year, according to South Korea's coast guard.
In 2008, one South Korean coast guard officer was killed and six others injured in a scuffle with Chinese fishermen fishing in South Korean waters.
Over the last year, China has also been reasserting its territorial claims to almost all of the South China Sea, alarming several Southeast Asian nations which claim parts of it.