One dead after spat at sea

[plugginpete]

One dead after spat at sea
Sep 27, 2008 9:46 PM


South Korea's coast guard is questioning the crew of a Chinese fishing boat after an officer was killed when the vessel was seized in its territorial waters, officers said.

The Chinese fishermen used shovels and steel pipes to fight off coast guard officers as they tried to board the vessel off the southwestern coast of Jeolla province on Thursday, the officers said.

"Nine crew members who were brought in in the morning and two who arrived later with the vessel are being questioned by the investigation section," an officer said by telephone.

The body of the officer was picked up hours after he was thrown overboard in the violent operation, apparently after he was hit by a shovel swung by a Chinese crewmember, news reports said quoting officers who viewed video footage of the operation.
The deadly incident came just days after coast guard officials in the southern port city of Mokpo met with Chinese diplomats seeking help to prevent Chinese fishing boats entering the territorial waters illegally.

[skinner]

This is where the US coast Guard rules. They don't play that crap, mess with our CG and they'll put a bullet in you.

[HerringRollins]

North Korea likely fired at Chinese trawler-report

Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:11pm IST

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's coast guard is suspected of firing at a Chinese trawler for illegally fishing in its waters, seriously injuring one Chinese sailor, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said on Monday, quoting military officials.
News of the incident came after Chinese fishermen on a separate ship were arrested in the South on suspicion of beating to death a South Korean coast guard officer at the weekend who tried to board their vessel after it was found to be illegally fishing.
South Korea military officials say a growing number of Chinese fishing vessels are suspected of illegally fishing in North and South Korean territorial waters because overfishing and pollution is wiping out fish stocks off the Chinese coast, Yonhap said.

"North Korean coast guards often fire at Chinese boats trespassing in North Korean waters and illegally fishing," the unnamed official told Yonhap.
China is the closest thing North Korea can call to an ally.
The Chinese trawler was suspected of taking fire on Saturday and eventually ended up in a South Korean port. The captain, hit by shrapnel in his head and leg, was taken to an area hospital and is expected to recover, the South's Coast Guard said in a news release.

"This is not the first time Chinese vessels have intruded into North or South Korean waters," an official with the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff told Reuters.

In the separate incident in South Korea waters, the Chinese crew was suspected of using shovels and hammers to attack the South Korean coast guard officer and then dumping his body at sea, the coast guard said.