By Na Jeong-ju
The Chinese fishing illegally in Korean waters has reached the level of piracy as the fishermen use axes and hooks to fight with the Korea Coast Guard attempting to make onboard inspections.
One coast guard was killed in December but promises from China to keep illegal fishing at bay have not been kept. More recently some Korean inspectors were injured from ax-wielding Chinese fishermen on April 30 when they tried to get on board to determine whether they were engaged in illegal fishing.
According to the Coast Guard, it continues to seize several Chinese boats fishing illegally in Korea’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Last week, police in Incheon caught two 70-ton Chinese vessels in waters some 40 kilometers southwest of the island of Socheong in the West Sea for unauthorized fishing. Five other Chinese boats were also seized in early May for fishing illegally in Korean waters.
The repeated violations by Chinese fishermen raise doubts over whether the Chinese government is taking the matter seriously. There is also a question about whether Seoul’s diplomacy with Beijing has been effective in addressing the problem.
Chinese fishing boats are often caught poaching in Korean waters, sometimes leading to violent clashes during attempts by Korean coast guards to seize the vessels.
Following the killing of a coastguard officer by a Chinese skipper in December, the two countries agreed to strengthen punishments on illegal fishing and maritime violence in April. Weeks later, however, Chinese fishermen attacked four Korean fishing inspectors enforcing the law with knives, axes and hooks to stop them from boarding their boat.
The violence prompted the Korean government to toughen crackdown on illegally-operating Chinese fishing boats, but it can’t be a fundamental solution unless diplomats tackle the issue more seriously, analysts say.
Seoul and Beijing have held rounds of negotiations over the drawing of the EEZ for the past decade, but failed to reach a compromise. South Korea wants to set up the EEZ in the middle of the two countries, while China claims the EEZ should be established based on the length of the coastline and size of the population.
“The problem is that China’s claims are mostly based on historic claims and emotion rather than international law,” said Prof. Park Seung-jun of University of Incheon, a China expert. “I belive such a stance by the Chinese government is behind the continued illegal fishing by Chinese fishermen. That’s why it’s diplomacy that counts, after all.”
Korea University Prof. Ahn In-hae said Seoul should drop its low-key policy in dealing with the issue.
“Most Chinese fishermen caught by Korean police were transferred to Chinese authorities, but they were freed without heavy punishments. The Korean government should demand tougher punishments by China,” Ahn said.
The coast guard said the number of Chinese fishing boats operating in the nation’s EEZ has surged in recent years. Not only in the West Sea and the South Sea, they have begun venturing into the East Sea, indiscriminately catching fish regardless of size and intentionally sabotaging fishing nets set up by Korean fishermen. This year alone, more than 250 Chinese boats were seized for fishing illegally.
Against this backdrop, the Korean government has beefed up its crackdown on the Chinese boats and toughened penalties for Chinese violators to better protect the country’s maritime resources.
The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Tuesday it revised rules to double the fines for illegal fishing to 200 million won ($173,000) from 100 million won. Fishing boats that enter South Korea's territorial waters to fish without proper permits or use force to resist inspection or arrest will be subject to aggravated punishment in addition to fines.