Hong Kong authorities block protest boat from Senkaku trip+

HONG KONG, Sept. 22 Kyodo -

Hong Kong authorities blocked a fishing boat Wednesday that was to carry
activists claiming Chinese sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands from leaving
Hong Kong waters, the activists' group said.
The protest boat, carrying three activists from Hong Kong's Action Committee
for Defending the Diaoyu Islands and four crew members, left port earlier in
the day for what the sponsors called a ''fishing trip.''
''The boat will sail to where fish are abundant,'' group chairman Chan Miu-tak
told reporters, adding they ''do not rule out fishing near Diaoyu Islands.''
The protest move came amid heightened tension between China and Japan over the
Japanese handling of recent ship collisions off the disputed islands in the
East China Sea that are claimed by China as the Diaoyu.
Located 170 kilometers northeast of Taipei and 410 km west of Okinawa Island,
the islets' sovereignty has been in dispute among China, Taiwan and Japan, all
apparently eying the exclusive economic zone in the surrounding waters.
Numerous attempts to proclaim sovereignty at the islets in the past by the Hong
Kong group have failed as they were barred by the authorities to leave Hong
Kong waters.
The Marine Department issued the group an instruction Tuesday that again bars
it from leaving Hong Kong waters.
''From news reports published since Sept. 14, the department has reasons to
believe that some people on the boat are not fishermen and they are not on a
voyage to fish,'' department spokesman Patrick Wong said. ''So, the department
will not allow the boat to leave Hong Kong waters.''
But Chan said all seven people onboard are licensed to operate the boat and
should not be seen as passengers.
''If still we are stopped from leaving Hong Kong waters this time, we will be
disappointed at our incompetent government,'' he said before the intervention
by the authorities.
Japan has administered the islets since 1895 when it colonized Taiwan except
for a period after the end of World War II when they were under U.S. control
until 1972.
China and Japan renewed their dispute after a Chinese fishing boat was detained
by Japanese authorities after a collision in the disputed area earlier this
month.
The skipper of the boat, Zhan Qixiong, is still being held and his capture has
snowballed into an international issue further damaging fragile Sino-Japan
relations.
China has demanded the immediate release of Zhan while reiterating its
sovereignty over the islets.
Japan also maintains its control there and has revealed the possibility of
beefing up its military presence in nearby waters.
==Kyodo
2010-09-22 21:48:00


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