Tragedy in West Sea

China must act resolutely to uproot illegal fishing 

Another tragedy took place in the West Sea Tuesday and this time, a Chinese fisherman died after being hit by a rubber bullet.

It’s sad to continue to see a string of tragic incidents due to illegal fishing by Chinese trawlers in our exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Sea. Now Seoul and Beijing can no longer afford to waste time and must cooperate sincerely to find fundamental solutions.

What has been known so far is that the 44-year-old died from accidental injuries while resisting the seizure of his boat by our coast guard officers. The incident occurred at 3:45 p.m. when a coast guard unit clashed with Chinese fishermen operating illegally in the EEZ. As they brandished knives and other deadly weapons, the unit fired rubber bullets at the crew and one of them hit the fisherman. He was immediately taken to a hospital by helicopter but was pronounced dead at 6 p.m.

The Chinese Embassy in Seoul lodged protests and expressed strong dissatisfaction to our government over the death. China also asked the Seoul government to investigate the case “seriously and thoroughly.’’

Given that the rubber bullet is not life-threatening, it’s questionable why the fisherman died, and in this regard, the Korea Coast Guard (KCG) should make its best effort to find how the incident took place.

As things stand, the incident seems to have occurred accidentally while the weapons-wielding Chinese fishermen were resisting the seizure of their vessels. The rubber bullet was intended to be non-lethal but it’s presumed that it unfortunately hit him right in the chest.

Mishaps in the West Sea are nothing new. Last December, a Chinese sailor stabbed a South Korean KCG officer to death during a raid on his ship. He was handed a 30-year prison term. In 2010, two Chinese sailors were killed when their boat overturned and sank after colliding with a KCG vessel.

More than anything else, continuous illegal fishing by Chinese fishermen must be a prime reason for the string of tragic incidents in the EEZ. No country in the world would tolerate illegal fishing by other countries in its waters. Further, it’s unforgivable for Chinese fishermen to wield deadly weapons against law enforcement officers.

To prevent the recurrence of such tragedies, the Chinese government must act resolutely to uproot illegal fishing by its sailors. And it needs to enlighten them about the need to respect and follow our justifiable law enforcement. The KCG, for its part, should do its utmost to minimize casualties during its crackdown on China’s illegal fishing in our waters.

It’s fortunate to see the Chinese government respond calmly to the latest incident, given diplomatic tensions between the neighboring countries since late last year due to friction over China’s forcible repatriation of North Korean defectors, Ieodo and allegations of torture from a South Korean human rights activist.

What is needed most is for Seoul and Beijing to avoid escalating this kind of incident into a diplomatic row. <The Korea Times>

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