China condemns Russia for handling of fishing incident

Chinese officials demanded to meet with their counterparts from Russia after the Russian coastguard opened fire on Chinese fishing boats and detained more than 30 fishermen who had entered Russia’s economic zone, Reuters reported. The Russian coastguard fired warning shots and targeted one vessel that had entered Russia’s eastern Primorsky region on Tuesday to fish for squid. 36 Chinese fishermen were later detained. China’s vice foreign minister Cheng Guoping condemned Russia’s handling of the incident. “China is strongly dissatisfied with Russia’s rough law enforcement and use of military force to seize Chinese fishing boats,” Cheng said, according to a statement posted on the Foreign Ministry’s website. The statement also indicated that one man was still missing, although earlier reports from Russia said that no one had been killed or injured.