Posted on 12/22/2001 8:26:39 AM PST by bonesmccoy
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Suspected N. Korean ship sinks, 15 crew members missing
TOKYO, Dec. 23, Kyodo -
An unidentified ship being pursued by the Japan Coast Guard in the East China Sea for infringing in Japan's exclusive economic zone sank Saturday night after being fired on by two coast guard patrol vessels near Amami-Oshima Island, coast guard officials said. After a final shoot-out between coast guard officials and the ship's crew that took place in waters included in China's 320-kilometer exclusive economic zone, the 100-ton vessel foundered at 10:13 p.m. some 390 km west-northwest of the island in Kagoshima Prefecture, throwing about 15 crew members into the sea. Two Japanese coast guard members aboard the patrol vessel Amami were injured in the shoot-out, with both Yoshiharu Nagatomo, a 54-year-old mate from Miyazaki Prefecture, and Yoshitake Kinjo, the 49-year-old chief navigator from Okinawa Prefecture sustaining wounds to their left arms. Their injuries are not life-threatening, they said, and both men are being airlifted to a hospital in Kagoshima Prefecture, where they are expected to arrive shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday. The coast guard said there is a high possibility the ship may have been a North Korean spy ship judging from the boat's appearance. The coast guard pursued the ship for most of the day. The Japanese patrol vessels were ordered not to approach the sunken ship's 15 crew members, who were clinging to life buoys in the 18.4 C water, for fear they were armed, according to the officials. The whereabouts of the 15 were not immediately known, they added. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said early Sunday, ''The cause of the suspicious ship's sinking remains unknown. It is possible the crew members themselves sank the ship deliberately.'' The shoot-out began when two people on the ship's deck who were concealed under a blanket suddenly opened fire on the patrol vessels with automatic weapons, the coast guard officials said, adding the patrol boats returned fire in self-defense. The rogue ship, which ignored orders to halt despite a round of warning shots fired by coast guard vessels, continued its flight even after it caught on fire at 5:24 p.m. after being hit by several bullets. It stopped fleeing around 6:50 p.m., however, when it was surrounded by four patrol vessels some 400 km west-northwest of Amami-Oshima Island, southwest of Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu. Two of the four Japanese patrol vessels then anchored next to the unidentified vessel, the coast guard officials said. In total, 13 rounds of warning shots were fired by the patrol vessels Inasa and Mizuki, using 20-millimeter machine guns, the officials said. At one point during the pursuit, about 10 people aboard the unidentified ship appeared on the ship's deck, and several of them brandished steel pipes in an apparent gesture of resistance, the coast guard said. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi ordered the coast guard members involved in the chase to persevere, government officials said. About 20 patrol vessels were dispatched to deal with the situation, and the coast guard established a task force headed by its director general, they said. The coast guard opted to pursue the ship even though it did not enter Japanese territorial waters because there were similarities between it and other suspicious ships detected in the past near the Japanese archipelago, the officials said. The ship was initially spotted by a Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) P3C reconnaissance plane at 4 p.m. Friday in the East China Sea about 150 km north-northwest of Amami-Oshima Island. The ship was later spotted by a coast guard plane about 240 km northwest of the island at 6:20 a.m. on Saturday. The ship appears to be a fishing boat, though it is not carrying fishing gear, according to the officials. Two Chinese characters and a four-digit number, 3705, can be seen on the port side of the ship, they said. The MSDF also sent vessels, including an Aegis destroyer, to monitor the situation and investigative authorities, including the National Police Agency, are cooperating with related organizations to collect information. |
Lol, I'm sure that was the reason.
As a doctor, you probably laughed or shuddered or both at this: "In total, 13 rounds of warning shots were fired by the patrol vessels Inasa and Mizuki, using 20-millimeter machine guns, the officials said. At one point during the pursuit, about 10 people aboard the unidentified ship appeared on the ship's deck, and several of them brandished steel pipes in an apparent gesture of resistance, the coast guard said."
If one has an IQ over 20, one never brings a pipe to a fight when the opponent has 20-millimeter guns!
It appears that old Man Darwin has decided to really clean out the shallow end of the human genome pool! First the fanatic Islamics have done incredibly terminal things this past year, and now the N. Koreans!
This may not have been a spy boat. It could have been a boat loaded with NK terrorists and bombs and other weapons! If these idiots are dumb enough to PO the Japanese, the Japanese will erase them from this planet with the help of the SKs! The Japanese Air Force and Navy are well trained and pack an awesome modern day force! I hope that the NK's are that stupid! If so, one more group of Fanatic Terrorists will be erased from Mother Earth and a lot less scum will be in the human genome pool!
Say 'hi' to Wong Wei...
The Japs again demonstrate their unique sensitivity towards enemies once they are helpless..... However, they are first in line to whine and cry when they lose ..... and just plain ignore their own history.
Any Navy vets want to comment of the responsibility to assist enemy survivors adrift at sea ?
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese coast guard ships chased and sank a mystery boat that intruded into Japan's waters in the East China Sea and shot at them, Japanese officials said.
The 25 patrol ships pursued the vessel after it entered Japan's 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone and refused to stop. The flotilla sank the vessel leaving 15 crew stranded in the water awaiting rescue.
Japan's Kyodo news service said the vessel was believed to be a North Korean spy ship.
Japan has been sensitive about unidentified craft since two vessels suspected of being North Korean spy ships were spotted in Japanese waters in the Sea of Japan in March 1999.
In that incident, Japanese Coast Guard and navy ships gave chase but were unable to catch the intruders, which were rigged as fishing boats but able to move at high speed.
North Korea (news - web sites) denied any connection to the ships.
Last month, Japan approved legislation allowing its vessels to fire upon suspicious ships in its waters.
DAY-LONG CHASE
The saga began on Friday afternoon when the 100-tonship was first spotted by a Japanese aircraft. Another plane picked it up again early on Saturday.
Although outside Japan's territorial waters, the ship was inside the exclusive economic zone, which mainly covers fishing rights.
The Japanese ships fired warning shots but the ship continued to flee and two crewmen opened fire from its deck with automatic weapons, the Japanese officials said.
Two Japanese coast guard members were wounded in the incident, but their injuries were not life threatening.
The ship caught fire and later sank, the officials said.
NORTH KOREA WORRIES
Japan's ties with North Korea have been strained for years with a number of high-profile incidents.
In August 1998, North Korea fired a rocket it said contained a satellite over Japanese territory, raising renewed fears over the country's missile program.
In May 2001, a man believed to be the son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was detained when trying to enter Japan on a false passport.
Tokyo also accuses North Korea of having kidnapped at least 10 Japanese nationals in the 1960s and 1970s to assist in its espionage efforts
The United States considers North Korea a potential sponsor of terrorism. The isolationist state has been seen as a potential target of Washington's war on terrorism.
Japan, home to the largest U.S. military presence in Asia, has been on high alert since the September 11 attacks in Washington and New York.
For the first time since World War Two, it has dispatched ships outside its own waters in military support of the U.S. attacks on Afghanistan (news - web sites).
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