ISTANBUL

Japanese authorities on Friday seized a Chinese fishing vessel and detained its captain near Japan's exclusive economic zone off Nagasaki province, according to a local media report.

The country's Fisheries Agency said that the fishing boat was seized and its skipper arrested on Thursday for allegedly defying an order to stop while within Japan's exclusive economic zone off Nagasaki, Kyodo News reported.

This marks the first time a Japanese agency has seized a Chinese fishing boat in waters off southwestern Japan since 2022.

According to the agency’s regional office, the vessel had a crew of 11 and was described as a “tiger net fishing boat,” typically used to catch fish such as mackerel and horse mackerel.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said the investigation is ongoing and stressed that Tokyo will act “resolutely” through enforcement measures to prevent and deter illegal operations by foreign fishing vessels.

Beijing said it hopes Tokyo “will uphold the China-Japan fisheries agreement, enforce the law fairly, and safeguard the lawful rights and interests of the people concerned,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular news conference in Beijing in response to the incident.

China “always” urges its fishermen to operate “in accordance with laws and regulations,” he said, adding that Beijing will firmly safeguard its “lawful rights and interests.”

Relations between China and Japan have been strained since remarks made by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in November of last year, when she said a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, possibly enabling the exercise of collective self-defense.

Beijing strongly criticized the comments and advised Chinese citizens against traveling to Japan, and it reinstated a ban on Japanese seafood imports.