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TOKYO: Japan was Wednesday holding the captain of a Chinese fishing trawler that collided with two Japanese patrol ships near a disputed island chain, sparking a bitter row between Beijing and Tokyo.
Both Asian giants have lodged protests with each other's ambassadors over the tense incident Tuesday in the East China Sea, which saw two minor collisions and a high-seas chase but caused no reported injuries.
The disputed string of five small islands -- known as Senkaku in Japan, Diaoyu in China, and Diaoyutai in Taiwan -- lies between Japan's far-southern Okinawa island and Taiwan in an area believed to hold seabed oil deposits.
Controlled by Tokyo, but also long claimed by Beijing and Taipei, the uninhabited islands have often sparked regional tensions.
"We arrested the 41-year-old captain early Wednesday at sea on suspicion of interference with officers on duty," said a Japan Coast Guard spokesman, mentioning a charge that carries a maximum three years' jail.
"Questioning is set to begin. We will also investigate the vessel."
The skipper was taken to Japan's Ishigaki island, in Okinawa prefecture, where the Chinese vessel with its 14 crew was set to arrive later in the day.
The high-seas incident started Tuesday morning when the Japanese Coast Guard's 1,349-ton patrol boat the Yonakuni ordered the Chinese trawler to cease operations in the disputed waters, said the Japanese Coast Guard.
In the ensuing confrontation, the Chinese boat's bow hit the Yonakuni's stern before it sailed off. About 40 minutes later it collided with another Japanese patrol boat, the Mizuki, the Coast Guard said.
Four Japanese patrol ships then chased the Chinese vessel, and Coast Guard personnel later boarded it to question the captain and crew over the incident and on suspicion of violating the fisheries law, the Coast Guard said.
The tense incident quickly sparked a row between Asia's two biggest economies, historical rivals who frequently quarrel over sea territories including areas rich in seabed energy and mineral resources.
Japanese senior foreign ministry official Akitaka Saiki on Tuesday informed the Chinese ambassador Cheng Yonghua that "Tokyo will enforce its domestic laws" and pursue a criminal case against the captain.
China expressed its "great concern" and vice foreign minister Song Tao summoned Japanese ambassador Uichiro Niwa, making "solemn representations", the Xinhua state news agency said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Beijing had stressed that the islands have been part of Chinese territory since ancient times.
China urged Japan to stop "so-called law enforcement activities" in the area and to avoid actions that might "jeopardise the safety of Chinese fishing boats and Chinese people".
On Wednesday morning, Japan's top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, reiterated at a news conference: "Our country is going to strictly deal with the case based on our law."
But he also said that "it is necessary to deal with the case calmly, not to heat things up in Japan. We have to conduct diplomatic dialogue firmly.
Japan's stance is that a territorial problem does not exist."
China's state-controlled English-language Global Times said in a commentary: "If it were Chinese naval boats smashing into Japanese fishing boats in some disputed area, how would the Japanese public react?"
The newspaper warned of the risk of the row escalating, warning that "Japan's irresponsible moves may eventually set fire to the Sino-Japanese relationship, or even force a military showdown."
-AFP/wk
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