China Offers ‘Regret’ for South Korean Coast Guard Death
Posted Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 at 5:15 am
The Chinese government said Tuesday it regrets the death of a South Korean coast guard officer allegedly stabbed to death by a Chinese fisherman.
The statement from China's foreign ministry comes amid rising public anger in South Korea over the incident, which happened Monday during an operation to stop a vessel illegally fishing off the Korean peninsula.
More than 100 South Korean military veterans and activists protested in front of the Chinese embassy in Seoul on Tuesday to denounce Beijing for the killing. During the demonstration, a South Korean protester slammed his car several times into a police vehicle guarding the Chinese embassy.
Earlier Tuesday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak promised “strong countermeasures” to protect coast guard officers who are cracking down on increasingly bold incursions by Chinese fishermen.
South Korea's foreign ministry on Monday summoned the Chinese ambassador in protest over the incident.
South Korean officials said the Chinese vessel was halted Monday morning in the Yellow Sea for fishing illegally in South Korea's exclusive economic zone, but outside its territorial waters.
The officials said the captain of the boat used an undetermined weapon to stab two of the four coast guard officers who had boarded his vessel, killing a 41-year-old corporal and wounding a second officer.
South Korean officials say the captain has denied stabbing the officers. The Chinese vessel has been seized and its crew of nine is now in custody.
China's foreign ministry said Beijing will cooperate with Seoul in investigating the incident, but urged South Korea to respect the “legitimate rights and interests of Chinese fishermen.”
This is the first such fatal encounter between South Korean authorities and a Chinese crew at sea since 2008, when Chinese fishermen killed a coast guard officer and injured six others.
South Korea's coast guard says incursions by Chinese boats have been growing. It says it has cited over 470 Chinese ships this year for illegal fishing, compared to 370 last year.
http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-ne...t-guard-death/
China says "regrets" death of South Korean coastguard
Posted: 13 December 2011
BEIJING: China said on Tuesday it regretted the death of a South Korean coastguard who was allegedly stabbed to death by a Chinese boat captain trying to escape arrest for illegal fishing.
"The Chinese side regrets that the relevant incident caused the death of an ROK (Republic of Korea) coastguard, which is an unfortunate event," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters.
The incident - which happened on Monday after coastguards boarded a Chinese vessel in South Korea's territory in the Yellow Sea - has angered Seoul and strained ties between China and South Korea.
The South's coastguard has said the Chinese skipper stabbed the officers as they tried to arrest him on the boat.
The 42-year-old captain was being questioned on Tuesday in the western port of Incheon. The coastguard is seeking a formal arrest warrant against him for murder and violating the South's exclusive economic zone.
Eight of his crewmen are accused of obstruction.
"The captain has denied stabbing the officers. But we have firm evidence including his bloodstained clothes... so we won't have much problem charging him," a coastguard spokesman told AFP.
After the incident - in which another coastguard officer was wounded - Seoul summoned the Chinese ambassador to deliver a strong protest at the killing, the second such fatality in less than four years.
South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak has also ordered officials to take "strong" measures against illegal fishing by Chinese boats.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday China was working to ban cross-border fishing, but also urged South Korea to "fully protect" the "legitimate rights and interests of Chinese fishermen".
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...171052/1/.html
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