Japanese authorities have arrested Zhang Tianxiong, a Chinese fishing captain who refused inspection of boat when fishing in waters near Nagasaki, said Japanese Coast Guard.
The incident took place on Sunday when the trawler “浙岱渔04188”, 135 tons, captained by Tianxiong Zhang, 47, attempted to escape after a Japanese patrol vessel request an inspection, according to Japanese Coast Guard reported today by Kyodo news agency.
After a chase of four hours the Japanese vessel collided with the fishing ship to force it to stop, after which the captain was arrested.
A second Chinese ship was also in the area and escaped from Japan authorities, meanwhile reported public broadcaster NHK.
In the past year there have been several similar incidents in Japanese waters, one of them happened last August, when Japanese authorities held the captain for three days.
But the most serious incident was held in September last year in waters around the disputed Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku in Japanese), claimed by both China and Japan.
The captain of a Chinese trawler was detained there by the Japanese Coast Guard, which led to a bitter diplomatic row with Beijing, which called the detention unlawful.
The conflict lasted for several weeks during which, among other measures, Beijing suspended high-level relations with Tokyo, until Japan released the captain fifteen days after his arrest.
The Diaoyu Islands are an archipelago inhabited with large marine and energy resources located in the East China Sea, and whose sovereignty is also claimed by Taiwan.