ID :
141404
Thu, 09/09/2010 - 12:17
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/141404
The shortlink copeid
Coast Guard questions Chinese captain, crew over Senkaku incidents
TOKYO, Sept. 8 Kyodo -
The Japan Coast Guard questioned the captain and other crew members of a
Chinese fishing vessel on Wednesday amid a diplomatic spat that is feared to
escalate after the vessel hit Coast Guard patrol boats near the disputed
Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
The Chinese skipper, Zhan Qixiong, 41, who was arrested in the early hours of
Wednesday on suspicion of obstructing public duties, had been taken to Ishigaki
Island in Okinawa Prefecture on a patrol boat in the morning.
''We will handle it in a strict manner based on our country's laws,'' Prime
Minister Naoto Kan told reporters in Tokyo, while Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yoshito Sengoku said he believes the arrest will not affect ties between Japan
and China despite exchanges of protests.
But with a few dozen activists staging a small protest over the incident in
front of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, Japanese officials are concerned
about Chinese reactions and the Coast Guard is guarding against a similar
incident near the Senkakus.
Speaking at a news conference, Sengoku said the two countries are trying not to
''escalate'' the situation and it is necessary for Tokyo not to ''heat up'' in
dealing with the incident.
He also mentioned the need for Tokyo to hold talks with Beijing in a proper
manner given that an increasing number of cases involving Chinese fishing
vessels operating in Japan's territorial waters have been reported lately.
The Senkaku Islands are a group of Japanese-controlled uninhabited islets
located between Okinawa and Taiwan and known as the Diaoyu Islands in China and
the Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan. Beijing argues that they have been Chinese
territory since ancient times.
The other 14 Chinese were escorted to Ishigaki late Wednesday afternoon on
board the fishing boat although they were kept off the island. They were later
questioned as witnesses aboard a patrol boat and their ship.
Chinese Embassy and consulate officials requested the same day that the Coast
Guard release the Chinese crew members soon. Coast Guard officials told them
that the 14 crew members are healthy and can be returned soon, depending on the
progress made in the investigation.
The embassy officials also met with the captain at the Ishigaki Coast Guard
Office on Ishigaki and the other crew members aboard the fishing boat,
according to the office, which is investigating the incidents.
The captain is suspected of deliberately having his ship hit the Mizuki, one of
the Coast Guard patrol boats that chased it to conduct an on-board inspection,
thereby interfering with the execution of Coast Guard officers' duties.
The Coast Guard also plans to investigate whether the ship's alleged avoidance
of an on-board inspection was a violation of the fisheries law.
On Tuesday morning, the fishing boat allegedly pulled up its fishing net and
began to sail away after the Yonakuni, another Coast Guard patrol boat,
repeatedly ordered it to leave Japan's territorial waters off Kuba Island in
the Senkaku Islands chain.
It hit the Mizuki after bumping against the Yonakuni. Coast Guard members
boarded the fishing boat before 1 p.m. outside territorial waters and forced it
to stop.
Both collisions occurred in Japanese territorial waters, according to Coast
Guard Commandant Hisayasu Suzuki.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry lodged a strong protest on Wednesday over the
detention of the fishing boat and its captain's arrest, with Assistant Foreign
Minister Hu Zhengyue summoning Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa,
according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Earlier Tuesday, Akitaka Saiki, director general of the Foreign Ministry's
Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, lodged a protest with Chinese Ambassador to
Japan Cheng Yonghua by phone, telling him that Japan intends to handle the
incident based on its domestic law.
The islands in question are administratively part of the city of Ishigaki in
Okinawa Prefecture, but they are also claimed by China and Taiwan.
Obstructing officers in the performance of their duties is a crime punishable
by imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 500,000 yen.
The fisheries law sets penalties of imprisonment of up to six months or a fine
of up to 300,000 yen for those who refuse inspections.
==Kyodo
The Japan Coast Guard questioned the captain and other crew members of a
Chinese fishing vessel on Wednesday amid a diplomatic spat that is feared to
escalate after the vessel hit Coast Guard patrol boats near the disputed
Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
The Chinese skipper, Zhan Qixiong, 41, who was arrested in the early hours of
Wednesday on suspicion of obstructing public duties, had been taken to Ishigaki
Island in Okinawa Prefecture on a patrol boat in the morning.
''We will handle it in a strict manner based on our country's laws,'' Prime
Minister Naoto Kan told reporters in Tokyo, while Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yoshito Sengoku said he believes the arrest will not affect ties between Japan
and China despite exchanges of protests.
But with a few dozen activists staging a small protest over the incident in
front of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, Japanese officials are concerned
about Chinese reactions and the Coast Guard is guarding against a similar
incident near the Senkakus.
Speaking at a news conference, Sengoku said the two countries are trying not to
''escalate'' the situation and it is necessary for Tokyo not to ''heat up'' in
dealing with the incident.
He also mentioned the need for Tokyo to hold talks with Beijing in a proper
manner given that an increasing number of cases involving Chinese fishing
vessels operating in Japan's territorial waters have been reported lately.
The Senkaku Islands are a group of Japanese-controlled uninhabited islets
located between Okinawa and Taiwan and known as the Diaoyu Islands in China and
the Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan. Beijing argues that they have been Chinese
territory since ancient times.
The other 14 Chinese were escorted to Ishigaki late Wednesday afternoon on
board the fishing boat although they were kept off the island. They were later
questioned as witnesses aboard a patrol boat and their ship.
Chinese Embassy and consulate officials requested the same day that the Coast
Guard release the Chinese crew members soon. Coast Guard officials told them
that the 14 crew members are healthy and can be returned soon, depending on the
progress made in the investigation.
The embassy officials also met with the captain at the Ishigaki Coast Guard
Office on Ishigaki and the other crew members aboard the fishing boat,
according to the office, which is investigating the incidents.
The captain is suspected of deliberately having his ship hit the Mizuki, one of
the Coast Guard patrol boats that chased it to conduct an on-board inspection,
thereby interfering with the execution of Coast Guard officers' duties.
The Coast Guard also plans to investigate whether the ship's alleged avoidance
of an on-board inspection was a violation of the fisheries law.
On Tuesday morning, the fishing boat allegedly pulled up its fishing net and
began to sail away after the Yonakuni, another Coast Guard patrol boat,
repeatedly ordered it to leave Japan's territorial waters off Kuba Island in
the Senkaku Islands chain.
It hit the Mizuki after bumping against the Yonakuni. Coast Guard members
boarded the fishing boat before 1 p.m. outside territorial waters and forced it
to stop.
Both collisions occurred in Japanese territorial waters, according to Coast
Guard Commandant Hisayasu Suzuki.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry lodged a strong protest on Wednesday over the
detention of the fishing boat and its captain's arrest, with Assistant Foreign
Minister Hu Zhengyue summoning Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa,
according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Earlier Tuesday, Akitaka Saiki, director general of the Foreign Ministry's
Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, lodged a protest with Chinese Ambassador to
Japan Cheng Yonghua by phone, telling him that Japan intends to handle the
incident based on its domestic law.
The islands in question are administratively part of the city of Ishigaki in
Okinawa Prefecture, but they are also claimed by China and Taiwan.
Obstructing officers in the performance of their duties is a crime punishable
by imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 500,000 yen.
The fisheries law sets penalties of imprisonment of up to six months or a fine
of up to 300,000 yen for those who refuse inspections.
==Kyodo
