TOKYO: Japan seized a Chinese fishing boat and arrested its skipper, authorities said Friday, an incident that could deepen a spat between the Asian giants.
The episode on Thursday off southern Japan came three months after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Japan would intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take Taiwan by force.
China swiftly reacted to the seizure, the Japanese fisheries’ agency first since 2022 of a Chinese fishing boat, by urging Japan to protect the rights of Chinese crew.
“It is hoped Japan strictly respects the China-Japan fisheries agreement, fairly enforces the law and safeguards the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese crew members,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news conference on Friday.
Japan’s fisheries agency said the vessel’s captain was ordered to stop for an inspection, but the boat “failed to comply and fled.”
“Consequently, the vessel’s captain was arrested on the same day,” the agency said in a statement.
The boat was inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone 89.4 nautical miles (166 kilometers) south-southwest of Meshima island in the Goto archipelago, Japan’s statement said — not a disputed area.
The captain was named as Chinese national Zheng Nianli, 47. The status of the other 10 people on board the vessel, named the Qiong Dong Yu, was unclear.
“To prevent illegal fishing operations by foreign vessels, we will continue to take firm action and engage in enforcement activities,” chief government spokesman Minoru Kihara said.
China has a number of territorial tussles with Japan, and there have been repeated incidents around the Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu in China.
The 2010 arrest of another Chinese fishing boat captain off those islands in the East China Sea became a major diplomatic incident.

- 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 other countries — including Japan — would be China’s next targets should Beijing seize the democratic island.
“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,” Lai 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, fueling worries that Beijing may choke supplies of vital rare-earth minerals.
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.
Takaichi said Monday that under her leadership Japan — which hosts some 60,000 US military personnel — would bolster its defenses and “steadfastly protect” its territory.
She also said that 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 said 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.