http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...100461/1/.html
China demands South Korea pay for sunken fishing boat
Posted: 21 December 2010 - 21:27 hrs
BEIJING: China on Tuesday demanded that South Korea pay compensation for the sinking of a Chinese fishing boat in which one man was killed and punish the coastguard ship involved in the incident.
The 63-tonne Chinese fishing boat capsized after ramming into a 3,000-tonne South Korean coastguard ship on Saturday, leaving one Chinese crew member dead and another missing, according to South Korean officials.
Eight other Chinese fishermen were rescued. Five of them were picked up by nearby Chinese boats, while three were detained by South Korean authorities.
"We express great concern over the incident and have made solemn representations to the South Korean side requiring it to make all-out efforts to search for the missing crew member," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.
South Korea must "bring the perpetrators to justice, make compensation for the loss of our property and take concrete efforts to prevent such instances from reoccurring."
She dismissed press reports that the Chinese fishing boat had been sent by the government to monitor rising tensions on the Korean peninsula and in the Yellow Sea.
Jiang also said the incident "has no direct relation to the current situation on the peninsula", where tensions have been running high after last month's deadly shelling of a border island by North Korea.
A coastguard spokesman said the Chinese crew brandished iron pipes, clubs and shovels when two small boats from the 3,000-tonne South Korean ship approached their trawler, injuring four officers.
The BBC posted a video of the clash filmed by the coastguard, which appears to show the fishermen fending off the officers with metal bars.
The trawler then suddenly rammed into the coastguard ship and capsized, causing 10 Chinese sailors to fall into the sea, he said.
The fishing boat's 28-year-old captain slipped into a coma after the incident and died in hospital.
Illegal fishing by Chinese vessels is common in South Korean waters. The coastguard said 332 Chinese boats were caught last year.
In 2008, a South Korean officer drowned while trying to inspect a Chinese boat, and 10 officers have been injured this year.
-AFP/ac
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