Japan arrests Chinese fishing boat captain amid Diaoyu Island row
The 100-tonne coral fishing boat with a crew of 13 was stopped by a coastguard patrol in waters some 45 kilometres northeast of Miyako island, in the Okinawan chain, the Japan Coast Guard said.
Japan's coastguard arrested the captain of a Chinese boat on suspicion of illegal fishing in the country's exclusive economic zone yesterday, amid a festering territorial row between the two countries.
The 100-tonne coral fishing boat with a crew of 13 was stopped by a coastguard patrol in waters some 45 kilometres northeast of Miyako island, in the Okinawan chain, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The captain, identified as Xue Changlong, was arrested on suspicion of fishing in the exclusive maritime zone without permission from Japan. All of the crew members were Chinese nationals.
The incident occurred as a dispute simmers over the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan calls the Senkakus. Both nations claims sovereignty over the islands. Miyako is located about 210 kilometres off the biggest Diaoyu island.
The boat Qiong Yang Pu F8139 was first spotted by a coastguard patrol plane at 7.43am and tried to escape when the Japanese coastguard boat approached it, the coast guard said.
Coastguard officers boarded the fishing boat and stopped it soon afterwards. The 63-year-old captain was arrested at 8.53am.