NEWS FLASH

Chinese Fisherman Killed In South Korean Coast Guard Raid

According to South Korean Coast GUard sources a  Chinese fisherman was killed on 10th October in a South Korean Coast Guard  operation to apprehend his vessel which was operating illegally off South Korea’s west coast. Tensions have been high between China and Japan in the region over maritime territorial issues and in fact China disrespects the exclusive economic zones of all of her neighbors claiming to hold the entire South and East China Seas and most of the Yellow Sea as her exclusive sovereign territory. International law provides each of the neighboring adjacent coastal states with a 12 mile territorial limit and an exclusive economic zone that varies based on the extent of the continental shelf and distance across seas to neighboring states but can run as far out to sea as 200 miles. China and South Korea are major trading partners and hadn't had till now much in the way of friction over maritime jurisdictions. The incident is under investigation by the South Korean Coast Guard and not much has been released about the circumstances of the case. It is known that the South Korean Coast Guard landed an armed boarding team on the vessel and that the dead Chinese fisherman died from a bullet wound to his right lung.