Chinese Fisherman Kills South Korean Coast Guardsman
Yonhap, via Reuters
Relatives at a hospital in Incheon, South Korea, mourned a Coast Guard member who was stabbed to death on Monday when Chinese crewmen resisted an attempt to impound their boat.
By CHOE SANG-HUN
Published: December 12, 2011
RelatedSEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean Coast Guard member was stabbed to death by a Chinese fisherman on Monday during a crackdown on illegal fishing near South Korea, the Coast Guard said.
Nine Chinese crewmen violently resisted South Korean coast guardsmen who were trying to impound their 66-ton boat about 120 miles west of Incheon, near the border with North Korea, according to a Coast Guard statement.
Another Chinese ship rammed into the boat, and amid the confusion, the Chinese rebelled, said Chi Geun-tae, a Coast Guard spokesman, citing a preliminary report from the scene.
The captain of the Chinese ship was believed to have attacked the South Korean with a piece of glass from a shattered cabin window, Mr. Chi said. A 41-year-old coast guardsman was stabbed in the side and died while a helicopter was taking him to a hospital in Incheon, a port city west of Seoul. The captain, who suffered a minor injury during the clash, was under arrest.
A second South Korean was stabbed in the abdomen, but his condition was not critical.
The Coast Guard was taking the Chinese ship and its crew to Incheon. In Seoul, the Foreign Ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador, Zhang Xinsen, to lodge a protest against illegal fishing and the fishermen’s use of violence.
During a regularly scheduled news conference Monday, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the government was looking into the incident and that it would fully cooperate with the South Korean authorities. In response to a reporter’s question about the increasing number of clashes, the spokesman, Liu Weimin, said China was working to reduce illegal fishing by instructing Chinese fishermen about the law and at times physically restricting their boats from crossing into South Korean waters.
Mr. Liu, however, also warned Seoul to treat the arrested men judiciously. “South Korea is obligated to fully protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese fishermen and to provide them with due humanitarian treatment,” he said.
In recent years, South Korea has complained about an increasing number of Chinese fishing boats poaching in its fishing grounds. Citing them as a leading cause of depleting fish stocks, it has stepped up patrols. Since 2006, about 2,600 Chinese fishing boats have been seized for illegal fishing near South Korea.
Violent clashes have become common as Chinese fishermen try to escape arrest and thousands of dollars in fines. The Coast Guard has reported Chinese crewmen wielding axes and steel pipes. Last month, South Korean fisheries officials released photographs of a Chinese fishing boat armed with steel fences and spears to deter South Korean officers from boarding. Chinese ships also chain each other together to resist seizure, they said.
During a clash in 2008, a South Korean coast guardsman drowned after he was hit by a Chinese fisherman. A year ago, one Chinese fisherman drowned and another disappeared when their ship sank after ramming into a South Korean patrol boat that was trying to seize it.
