South Korea protests sinking of Coast Guard ship by Chinese fishing boat

South Korea summoned a senior Chinese diplomat in Seoul after a Chinese fishing boat escaped after allegedly ramming into and sinking one of its Coast Guard speedboats in its waters Friday.



The Incheon Korean Coast Guard (KCG) has listed the Chinese fishing boat at large as wanted, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported on Sunday.



According to the KCG, they were investigating the Chinese boat for suspected illegal fishing in waters around the island of Socheongdo, which is administered by the city of Incheon, but the vessel then collided with one of its speedboats before fleeing.



A KCG officer jumped off the sinking boat and was rescued by another South Korean ship. No casualties were reported, the Yonhap News Agency said.



Since the boat has likely returned to Chinese waters, the KCG will find it almost impossible to arrest the crew without help from local authorities, said the report.



The Coast Guard summoned on Sunday Zhu Jizhong, the Chinese Deputy Consul-General at the embassy in South Korea to protest the incident, said Yonhap.



The report said the South Korean foreign ministry likely urged China to punish the crew on the fishing boat and to prevent similar incidents from happening again.



The Chinese Embassy refused to make any comment on the incident.



In October 2014, South Korean Coast Guard officers shot and killed a Chinese fisherman in a similar incident.



And another Chinese fisherman died after being shot by rubber bullets by a KCG officer in what South Korean authorities said was a raid on illegal fishing in 2012.





