Two of the smaller Korea Coast Guard patrol boats at anchor. (Photo : Korea Coast Guard)
South Korea warns China it will use deadly force against Chinese caught fishing illegally within its territorial waters after an incident Oct. 7 where a large Chinese fishing vessel rammed and sank a smaller Korean Coast Guard boat, nearly killing a Korean sailor.
The sinking occurred when Korea Coast Guard officers were trying to stop about 40 Chinese fishing boats from illegally fishing in the Yellow Sea off South Korea's west coast.
One coast guard officer was on a small S Class offshore patrol boat weighing 4.5 metric tons when it was intentionally rammed by two Chinese boats. The officer jumped into the sea and was rescued by his colleagues. The Chinese boat that sank the coast guard boat, estimated to weigh 100 metric tons, later escaped back to China.
The Koreans fired warning shots into the Chinese fishing boats and into the air to scare away the onrushing boats but to no avail.
"So far we have been very cautious using such crew service weapons but now ... we will take a more aggressive stance in using them when our officers are in danger," said Lee Chun-jae, Vice Commissioner of the Korea Coast Guard.
Lee said the current rules on the use of firearms have "a very limited scope." He said the rules will be revised as soon as possible to allow officers more freedom.
"We plan to use any firearm, whether crew service weapon or individual weapon, to enforce our laws on those who violently protest."
Besides using firearms against the Chinese, the Koreans will also fire their crew served weapons that include heavy machine guns and light autocannons.
South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Oct. 11 summoned the Chinese ambassador to South Korea, Qiu Guohong, and complained about the sinking. The ministry summoned the Chinese consul general the day before.
Korean media said a deputy foreign minister told Qiu the incident was "a challenge to (Korea's) public power," said Cho June-hyuck, foreign ministry spokesman.
China said it was still verifying the situation and urged South Korea to remain calm. Ambassador Qiu did not comment on the incident.
The sinking occurred a few weeks after three Chinese fishermen caught illegally fishing were killed after South Korean coast guard officers boarded their boat. The three Chinese locked themselves in the wheelhouse.
The South Koreans exploded a stun grenade in the wheelhouse to drive out the Chinese. Instead, the grenade set fire to the wheelhouse causing the deaths of the three Chinese.
