Violence in Korean waters raises animosity toward China

Chinese fishermen, suspected of fishing illegally, are accused of killing a South Korean Coast Guard officer. In a separate incident, a North Korean patrol fires on a Chinese fishing boat.

By John M. Glionna
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

12:05 PM PDT, September 30, 2008

BEIJING — Two violent clashes in recent days involving Chinese fishermen at work off the Korean peninsula have threatened to roil the diplomatic waters between Beijing and two Asian neighbors, experts say.

South Korean maritime officials have detained 11 Chinese suspected of clubbing to death a Coast Guard officer last week as he tried to board their fishing vessel, which was suspected of illegally plying Korean territorial waters.

A North Korean patrol boat fired on another Chinese fishing boat on Saturday, wounding the vessel's captain.

Seoul officials have long complained of illegal Chinese intrusion into the fish-rich waters off the peninsula. Despite a fisheries treaty with Beijing signed in 2001, South Korea in the last four years has captured more than 1,750 Chinese fishing vessels that allegedly violated the pact.

The death last week of the 48-year-old Coast Guard officer has renewed calls in the South Korean media for tougher sanctions against Beijing and stronger action against Chinese fishermen caught in Korean waters.

With China in the middle of an autumn holiday, domestic news agencies did not carry stories of either incident. Chinese officials in Seoul declined comment. But Chinese blogs carried news of the shelling by the North Korean patrol boat.

Analysts say China wants to avoid the impression that its fishermen believe they can cast their nets with impunity.

"There is still an undercurrent of suspicion in South Korea toward China despite the China craze that has otherwise gripped the country over the last five years," said Adam Segal, a senior fellow for China Studies for the Council on Foreign Relations, a New York-based think tank.

"The Chinese right now don't want an incident with South Korea and will try to deal with the fishing issue diplomatically," he said. "But if Korean nationalists make a big deal out of this, and it gets reported in China, the issue could be volatile. These are dangerous waters."

Korean media reported that the Chinese ambassador to South Korea, Ning Fukui, had expressed "deep sorrow" over the officer's death.

Analysts in Seoul say that, although the incident may exacerbate the sentiments against China in the short term, it will not affect long-term relations between the two nations.

"A series of incidents this year -- anti-Korean sentiments shown among the Chinese during the Beijing Olympics, and melamine-contaminated foods imported from China -- deepened dislikes and suspicions against China among the Koreans," said Lee Chang Hyung, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul.

Still, China remains South Korea's largest trade partner, and the South is China's third-largest trade partner, so there is much at stake in dealing with the fisheries tensions, he said.

Coast Guard officials say the slain officer was one of several South Korean officials trying to board the 17-ton Chinese fishing boat when the fishermen attacked with pipes and shovels. The officer fell into the ocean, and his body was later recovered. Six other officials were injured.

South Korean maritime officials say Chinese fishermen resist capture to avoid stiff fines that can equal more than a year of their salaries. Since 2002, at least 26 South Korean Coast Guard officers have been injured in clashes with Chinese fishermen, they said.

Although Coast Guard officers carry guns, they are under heavy restrictions as to their use.

On Saturday, the captain of a Chinese fishing vessel was struck by shrapnel from a shell believed to have been fired by a North Korean patrol boat, South Korean maritime officials said. His injuries were not life threatening.

China is a key ally of communist North Korea, but patrol boats from the impoverished nation have in the past fired on both Chinese and South Korean ships in northern waters. But territorial claims are often murky, experts insist.

"Often, one country will insist a violation has occurred, and the other says, no, absolutely not," said Jerome Cohen, an adjunct senior fellow for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

"In these cases, nations, including the U.S., frequently lie," he said. "They like to adjust facts if the law is not on their side."