Chinese fishermen expected to return from South Korea

China Daily ^ | December 25th 2010 | Ai Yang

[Cardhu]

BEIJING - The Chinese fishermen detained by South Korean authorities are likely to return home on Saturday, after the charges against them were dropped a day before.

Three Chinese fishermen were booked on a charge of "obstructing the duty of civil servants" after a collision between their trawler and a patrolling South Korean vessel in the Yellow Sea on Dec 18.

However, South Korean coast guard officials decided to drop the charges on Friday, citing their "lack of direct involvement in the incident" and "active cooperation in the investigation", according to the Yonhap News Agency.

The report said the coast guard plans to arrange for the men to return to China on Saturday, if the prosecution body agrees.

"This is an issue of whether the fishing boat was involved in illegal activities or not, and whether our enforcement was excessive," South Korea's Joongang Daily quoted a foreign ministry official in Seoul as saying on Wednesday.

"This is an issue of whether the fishing boat was involved in illegal activities or not, and whether our enforcement was excessive," South Korea's Joongang Daily quoted a foreign ministry official in Seoul as saying on Wednesday.

"It is not desirable for either we or China to make a big diplomatic issue out of this," the paper quoted him as saying.

Observers were concerned that the incident, if not dealt with appropriately, might have escalated and triggered a wider dispute.

[Cardhu]

South Korea doesn't want a repeat of the Chinese/Japanese fishing boat fiasco.

[shutwho]

they are Pirates in Yellow Sea(West Sea).

the sunken boat rammed Korea Coast Guard ship for helping illegal Chinese fisher fleeing from KCG.

KCG personnells are killed and wounded by illegal Chinese fishers every year. they are out-laws in the Sea.

[Mike Darancette]

I would think that the RATs would be happy that the non-electable (in their eyes) Palin is doing so well.