New Zealand has sharply criticised Japan for failing to order a whaling ship not to enter New Zealand's economic waters as it pursued an anti-whaling vessel operated by protest group Sea Shepherd.
New Zealand said yesterday that Japan ignored requests that it tell the Shonan Maru 2 to steer clear of New Zealand's 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) during the pursuit.
[Our] strong opposition to Japanese whaling [near us] … is well known
The incident comes during heightened tensions over whaling. Last week, a different Japanese whaling ship and a second Sea Shepherd boat collided off Antarctica, with both sides blaming each other for the crash.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said Japan's latest actions were "unhelpful, disrespectful and short-sighted" and yesterday summoned Japan's ambassador Yasuaki Nogawa to meet with a government official, who McCully said expressed New Zealand's "deep disappointment".
McCully said New Zealand officials in Tokyo were told by their Japanese counterparts on Thursday that the whaler might enter New Zealand's economic waters.
"The New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo last week made it very clear we did not want members of the Japanese whaling fleet entering our EEZ," McCully said, adding that "New Zealand's strong opposition to Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean is well known and further action may be taken."