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A 100-tonne Chinese boat illegally fishing in South Korean waters rammed and sank a pursuing high-speed South Korean Coast Guard vessel before fleeing

An unprecedented incident occurred in the West (Yellow) Sea on Oct. 7 when a Chinese boat illegally fishing in the waters rammed and sank a pursuing high-speed Coast Guard vessel before fleeing.

The incident was concealed for over one day by the Coast Guard and Ministry of Public Safety and Security (MPSS) before reaching the public through media reports. Further fueling the controversy are claims by the Coast Guard that the release of information about the incident was blocked by senior MPSS officials.

According to accounts on Oct. 9 the Incheon Coast Guard branch, a 100-ton Chinese boat illegally fishing in the waters 76 km southwest of Socheong Island in Incheon’s Ongjin County deliberately collided at around 3:08 pm on Oct. 7 with a 4.5-ton high-speed vessel affiliated with the Incheon Coast Guard’s No. 3005 patrol ship, which was attempting to stop it. The Chinese boat subsequently fled the scene. The high-speed vessel capsized after the collision, prompting its captain, a 50-year-old lieutenant surnamed Cho, to jump into the water before the boat went down. Cho was subsequently rescued by another high-speed vessel. As the other eight special weapons attack team members were searching another Chinese fishing boat, there were no fatalities.

While many Chinese fishing boat crew members have threatened agents in the past with metal pipes and other weapons, this was the first time a Coast Guard high-speed vessel sank due to deliberate ramming by a boat.

But the Coast Guard kept the news under wraps at first, only issuing a press release 31 hours later at around 10:20 pm on Oct. 8. It was six hours after a news outlet had reported on the incident at around 4:30 that afternoon. The MPSS issued materials including similar content ten minutes later.

“They wrote up press materials the day of the incident, but didn’t distribute them due to internal issues,” explained an Incheon Coast Guard source. “The release time ended up delayed during the process of revising the report and materials after the media report the following day.”

But the same day, Yonhap News quoted another Coast Guard source, speaking on condition of anonymity, as saying, “After the incident, there were reports first to the Incheon Coast Guard, then to the Central Regional Headquarters, the Korea Coast Guard, the Minister of Public Safety and Security, the Prime Minister, and even the Blue House. For whatever reason, there was an order from the senior levels of the MPSS saying, ’This can‘t get out. Don’t disclose it.‘”

In response to the controversy, the MPSS released a statement on the afternoon of Oct. 9 claiming the source’s remarks had “no basis in fact.”

“A long time was needed to bring No. 3005 into the Incheon branch’s exclusive dock, question the naval special weapons attack team officers, and examine the video data to determine the precise facts,” it explained.

On Oct. 9, the South Korean government lodged a protest with Beijing over the incident.

“With regard to the sinking of one of our Coast Guard vessels, a deputy director-general with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Northeast Asia bureau summoned the general consul from the Chinese embassy in South Korea on the afternoon of Oct. 9 to express severe dismay and protest and urge China to make active efforts to prevent anything like this from happening again,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said.

“China also expressed dismay over the incident and said it would beef up its guidance and controls on Chinese fishing boats,” the official added.

“Because the root cause of this incident lies in illegal fishing by Chinese boats, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to continue examining related issues closely and stay in close communication with the Coast Guard, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and other related organizations as it continues its diplomatic efforts to eradicate illegal fishing by Chinese boats,” the official continued.

The Coast Guard’s Central Regional Headquarters also summoned deputy consul general Zhu Jizhong from the Chinese embassy in South Korea the same morning to sternly protest the incident and begin a hunt for the boat in question through Coast Guard branches nationwide and the Chinese Coast Guard.

“Illegal fishing and violent resistance by Chinese fishing boats have crossed the line,” said Central Regional Headquarters chief Lee Ju-seong.

“We intend to pursue a stern response and are actively considering the use of weapons against Chinese boats that refuse to comply with searches and put up violent resistance, which is something we have refrained from in the past,” Lee added.

By Park Kyung-man, north Gyeonggi correspondent in Incheon, and Lee Je-hun, staff reporter

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