South Korean coastguard commandos control Chinese fishermen captured for illegal fishing. [Yonhap News Photo]
South Korea's coastguard has fired hundreds of machine gun shots this week in a standoff with dozens of Chinese boats fishing illegally near the Yellow Sea border between the two Koreas.
The confrontation southwest of Socheong Island at around 7:00 pm Tuesday (1000 GMT) prompted coastguard officers to fire more than 600 shots from an M60 machine gun into the air and sea to scare away some 30 Chinese boats.
It's the first use of heavy weapons by South Korea's coastguard to stop an illegal operation by Chinese fishermen that has been the source of diplomatic disputes between Seoul and Beijing.
Coastguard operations have become risky as Chinese fishermen often used steel pipes, knives and other weapons, triggering violent clashes that have caused casualties on both sides.
Authorities said machinegun shots were inevitable to thwart a dangerous challenge by Chinese boats trying to ram coastguard vessels towing two Chinese boats captured for illegal fishing.
Helped by naval ships firing flares, coastguard officers fired shots into waters around a number of Chinese vessels following warning shots into the air, they said. There were no reports of injuries, and Beijing has yet to comment on the incident.
For years, South Korea has captured and fined thousands of Chinese boats for illegal fishing.
China has urged its fishermen to stop illegal fishing in waters of neighboring countries, but they continue to poach as fish stocks at home were depleted. Illegal fishing has also caused diplomatic and security concerns along the Yellow Sea border between the two Koreas.
Three Chinese fishermen were killed in late September when a fire broke out during a raid by coastguard commandoes using stun grenades. South Korea has threatened to use heavy weapons since October 7 when a coastguard boat was rear ended and sank.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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