Japan seizes Chinese fishing boat, arrests captain in move likely to raise tensions

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - In November, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi enraged China by suggesting that Japan would intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take Taiwan by force. — Reuters pic

TOKYO, Feb 13 — Japanese authorities seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its skipper, authorities said today, in a move likely to further heighten tensions with Beijing.

In November, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi enraged China by suggesting that Japan would intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take Taiwan by force.

“The vessel’s captain was ordered to stop for an inspection by a fisheries inspector, but the vessel failed to comply and fled,” Japan’s fisheries agency said.

“Consequently, the vessel’s captain was arrested on the same day,” according to a statement.

The incident happened yesterday inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone off Nagasaki Prefecture, 89.4 nautical miles (165 kilometres) south-southwest of the island of Meshima, it added.

It was the first time since 2022 that the agency has seized a Chinese fishing boat.

The skipper in the latest incident is a 47-year-old Chinese national. There were 11 people on board including the captain.

China has a number of territorial disputes with Japan, and there have been repeated incidents around the Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu in China.

The arrest of another Chinese fishing boat captain in 2010 off those islands in the East China Sea became a major diplomatic incident between the two countries.

Taiwan spat 

Japan and China have close economic ties but Takaichi’s comments about Taiwan have sent relations spiralling downwards again.

China has long insisted that Taiwan, occupied for decades by Japan until 1945, is its territory and has not ruled out force to achieve “reunification”.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te told AFP in an interview this week that countries in the region would be China’s next targets should Beijing seize the democratic island.

Lai said if China were to take Taiwan, Beijing would become “more aggressive, undermining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and the rules-based international order”.

“The next countries under threat would be Japan, the Philippines, and others in the Indo-Pacific region, with repercussions eventually reaching the Americas and Europe,” he said.

After Takaichi’s comments, Beijing summoned Tokyo’s ambassador, warned Chinese citizens against visiting Japan and conducted joint air drills with Russia.

In December, J-15 jets from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier twice locked radar on Japanese aircraft in international waters near Okinawa, according to Japan.

China also tightened controls on exports to Japan for items with potential military uses, fuelling worries that Beijing may choke supplies of vital rare-earth minerals.

In addition, Beijing reportedly suspended imports of Japanese seafood.

Japan’s last two pandas were even returned to China last month.

Hawkish leader 

Takaichi, 64, was seen as a China hawk before becoming Japan’s first woman prime minister in October.

She won a landslide victory in snap elections on Sunday, putting her in a strong position for the next four years to stamp her mark on Japanese domestic and foreign policy.

She said Monday she was “open to various dialogues with China”.

But China’s foreign ministry said “genuine dialogue should be built on respect for one another”.

“Proclaiming dialogue with one’s mouth while engaging in confrontation—no one will accept this kind of dialogue,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular news briefing on Tuesday.

“If Japan truly wants to develop a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship with China, it’s very easy and clear: withdraw Takaichi’s erroneous remarks about Taiwan,” he said. — AFP