Fleeing Chinese Ship

[Anchor Lead]

In the wake of an incident involving an illegally operating Chinese fishing vessel that resulted in the sinking of a South Korean Coast Guard speed boat in South Korean territorial waters, the Korean Coast Guard announced an all-point bulletin to capture the fleeing Chinese boat. The Coast Guard also says it may also consider employing weapons in such cases in the future.

[Pkg]

A Chinese fishing boat that sank the South Korean Coast Guard's speed boat in waters off Incheon on October 7th has been identified. The ship, the name of which starts with "No," is assumed to be a 100-ton-grade steel vessel registered in Shandong Province. The identification was made after the South Korean Coast Guard analyzed the video taken at the time of the attack. The Coast Guard issued an open search order for the Chinese fishing boat with Chinese authorities as well as local ones. Korea also warned that the Coast Guard would take strong measures, like using weapons against increasingly violent Chinese fishermen.

[Soundbite] Lee Ju-seong(Central Regional Headquarters Korea Coast Guard) : "We will respond strongly and sternly even if we have to use several special means, such as using weapons which we have refrained from."

Seoul protested about the sinking of the South Korean patrol boat to Beijing. The Coast Guard also summoned a Chinese diplomat from the Chinese embassy in Korea to lodge a strong protest. South Korea asked for China's cooperation in order to apprehend the fishing boat that had fled to China. The Chinese Vice Consul in Korea reportedly expressed regret about the incident and promised to catch and severely punish the Chinese fishing boat as soon as possible. The sinking of the Coast Guard speed boat had not been released to the public for more than a day. The Ministry of Public Safety and Security explained that the disclosure came late because it had to discuss the matter with pertinent agencies since the incident involves diplomatic concerns.