The Chinese fishing vessel rescued last month by the Chinese Coast Guard after its seizure by the Indonesian authorities, seen here in Beihai, China. Credit:New York Times Indonesia's furious reaction - and the resulting diplomatic spat with Beijing that erupted late last month - is the latest sign of growing frustration with China over territorial rights in the South China Sea. China now boasts the largest coast guard fleet in the world, including two 10,000-tonne vessels, known in naval circles as the "monsters" because they are far bigger than anything in the US Coast Guard, said Ryan Martinson, a researcher at the China Maritime Studies Institute at the Naval War College in Rhode Island. China also claims to have the biggest fishing fleet in the world, about 1 million boats, the government says. Recently, China embarked on a massive fishing boat building program, accompanied by fuel subsidies for the fishermen, and the installation of free navigational systems that help the coast guard keep track of the vessels. South-east Asian nations are also angry that China's fishing armada, supported by its vigilant coast guard, is plying waters that offer diminishing stocks of fish.

Chinese fisherman Li Xianchuan poses for a photo on a fishing boat at the port in Tanmen, China. Chinese fishermen working out of the Hainan island port say they now enjoy much greater support from their country's beefed-up coast guard. Credit:AP Last month, about 100 Chinese fishing boats were found by the Malaysians inside their waters in the South China Sea, accompanied by two Chinese coast guard vessels, the Malaysian authorities said. Vietnam said it had recently seized a Chinese vessel, disguised as a fishing boat in the Gulf of Tonkin, that was carrying 100,000 litres of fuel to resupply Chinese fishing boats. Anton Leonard, secretary-general of the Indonesian Fishermen's Association, says the fish-rich waters around Indonesia's Natuna Islands have a long history of being contested. Credit:AP Most of the disputes are inside the so-called nine dashes, an area drawn by China in the 1940s that covers more than 80 per cent of the South China Sea, though it is not recognised by international law.

In response to China's bold stance, Indonesian Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said he would deploy American F-16s to the Natuna Islands to deter what he called "thieves," in reference to the Chinese. A Chinese Coast Guard boat circles a Filipino fishing boat near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea last year. Credit:Renato Etac via AP Indonesian Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said Indonesia felt "sabotaged". The Chinese boat was well inside Indonesia's 320-kilometre exclusive economic zone, which is recognised by international law and overlaps with the nine-dash line. The members of the Chinese fishing crew were detained on the Natuna Islands, and the most senior members, including the captain, are likely to face charges, Pudjiastuti said. A map showing China's "nine-dash line" and Indonesia's Natuna Islands, with the port of Beihai to the north. Credit:New York Times

The Indonesians were justified in their irritation, Martinson said. "China's claim to jurisdiction over waters within Indonesia's exclusive economic zone on the basis of the nine-dash line is preposterous," he said. "When you add the aggressive pursuit to the territorial sea and the ramming, it is very easy to understand the Indonesian anger." In Beijing, the Foreign Ministry defended the fishing trawler, saying it was operating in "traditional Chinese fishing grounds", the phase China often uses in reference to the nine-dash line. Back home, Zhang has been called the "lucky fisherman" who got away. He talked about his ordeal from the docks here in Beihai, where fishing vessels that travel all over the South China Sea bring back their hauls, including stingrays, baby sharks and squid. As the noontime sun was beating down on the fishing boat, and the crew was on deck cleaning the fishing nets of debris from the sea, someone called, "'A gunboat is coming,'" Zhang said.

"It took them about 30 minutes to get near," he said. "I heard two shots - 'pa, pa' - and the sound of their vessel knocking on our ship. Their boat was too small to crash into a large ship like ours. Soon I heard more intensified shooting." Pudjiastuti said the men on the vessel had been lightly armed. Three Indonesians in dark green camouflage and helmets boarded the trawler and told the members of the crew to squat with their hands on their heads, Zhang said. They were ordered onto the Indonesian boat, but soon he and the captain were summoned back to their vessel to turn on the engines. By that time, he said, the captain had alerted the Chinese coast guard of their predicament. With the three Indonesians still on board, Zhang said, he drove the boat at less than maximum speed, hoping the coast guard would rescue them before they reached Indonesia. He was sleeping when the captain yelled that the Chinese coast guard had arrived. "The Chinese Coast Guard vessel was huge," Zhang said. "They were more than twice our size. They announced over a loudspeaker: 'This is the Chinese Coast Guard.'"

When the coast guard cutter rammed the trawler to free it, the Indonesian police officers who had remained aboard with Zhang ramped up the engines to try to get away. In the commotion, one of the engines almost ran out of oil, sending up clouds of white smoke. The Indonesians fled, taking the Chinese captain with them and leaving Zhang all alone to fix the engine. The Chinese coast guard called out to him: "'Can you drive the boat?' I said, 'So-so.'" Zhang said the two boats had then travelled together for about a week back to Beihai. At the dock, the boat owner, Chen Jifa, said he was confident the Chinese government had the power to arrange the return of the detained crew.

When asked if the trawler had been fishing in Indonesian territorial waters, Zhang said: "I'm not quite sure. I'm only an engineer." Then he added with a laugh: "But it is probable." New York Times