South Korea uses strong measures to deal with Chinese fishermen

According to RFI, in the context of the increasing number of Chinese fishing vessels operating illegally in South Korea's exclusive economic zone, the South Korean Coast Guard plans to increase measures to protect national seafood resources, including the ability to use weapons "if necessary."

Yun Byoung-Doo, head of the South Korean Coast Guard in Incheon, said the country would not rule out using “guns and cannons” on patrol ships to deal with Chinese fishermen.

Chinese fishing boat. Illustrative photo. (Source: THX)

In addition, Lee Kwang Nam, director of the Korea Fisheries Monitoring Agency, said that in 2014, Korean fishermen lost about 675,000 tons of seafood due to illegal fishing activities from China. The Korean fishing industry lost about 1.3 trillion won (1.2 billion USD).

Beijing has yet to make any official response to the decision, while the Chinese Foreign Ministry has only made a general statement that it is trying to “train and guide fishermen” to avoid incidents./.

According to VNA