By Kim Se-jeong
The government is under pressure to come up with stronger measures to stop Chinese fishermen from operating in Korean waters illegally.
The calls come three days after a Coast Guard speed boat sank after being rammed by a Chinese fishing vessel.
The 4.5-ton boat was one of two Korean vessels dispatched to waters near Socheong Island where 40 Chinese boats were fishing illegally. The Chinese boat weighed about 400 tons.
Rep. Chung Jin-suk, the floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, demanded stern action from the administration. “The government should find the Chinese vessels that escaped and bring them to justice,” he said.
Noting it is about maritime sovereignty, Chung said, “It is not news that Chinese fishermen use steel pipes and knives against coastguards during crackdowns. I wonder if the Korean authorities have become powerless.”
He said his party would consider stationing more Coast Guard officers in the West Sea.
Rep. Woo Sang-ho, the floor leader of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, echoed Chung. “The violent, illegal activities by Chinese fishing boats are beyond a tolerable level. I would say they are not fishermen but pirates.”
Woo said the Navy should join the Coast Guard’s crackdown.
Cheong Wa Dae also expressed regret over the incident. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called in China’s consul general in Seoul to complain and demand measures to alleviate the situation.
According to the Coast Guard, one officer was onboard the speed boat when the Chinese ship rear-ended it.
The officer survived by throwing himself into the water seconds before the Coast Guard boat capsized. Eight other officers were on one of the Chinese ships, attempting to enter the bridge, when their boat was attacked.
Illegal Chinese fishing in the nation’s West Sea is an old issue. But fishermen are getting more violent against crackdowns, posing greater threats to coastguards on the scene.
The Coast Guard says Chinese fishing boats move in groups, and they are often connected together with ropes, making it difficult for the Korean Coast Guard vessels to approach them individually. Many boats also have sharp iron bars on their sides to keep Korean boats at bay.
Chinese fishermen also fight using iron pipes, hammers, knives and hatchets, according to the Coast Guard.
The intensifying confrontation has resulted in casualties.
Lieutenant Park Kyung-jo was killed after a Chinese fisherman attacked him with a shovel in September 2008. In December 2011, a Chinese fisherman stabbed another Korean officer, Lee Cheong-ho, to death with a broken piece of glass. The fisherman was on drugs at the time.
Beside the two deaths, 73 officers have been injured since 2008 during crackdowns.
The Chinese have suffered casualties as well.
In October 2012, a Chinese fisherman died after being hit by rubber bullets fired by a Coast Guard officer, the first Chinese death. In 2014, a Korean officer shot a Chinese captain.
Earlier this month, three Chinese fishermen were killed after inhaling toxic smoke from a fire caused by a flash bang grenade thrown by the Coast Guard.
Chinese fishermen resist strongly because if they are caught and their boats are seized, they can only get them back by paying up to a 200-million-won fine. Unable to pay the money, some owners give up the vessels.
In July, Korea and China agreed to toughen the punishment of illegal fishing. According to the agreement, a fisherman caught for illegal fishing will be punished both by the Korean and Chinese governments. And those who are caught will have difficulty getting back into the fishing business.