Bloomberg.com, June 2, 2005
South Korea and Japan are scuffling over a South Korean fishing boat that may have crossed into Japanese territorial waters in a standoff that's lasted 33 hours, an official statement from Seoul said.
South Korean and Japanese patrol boats have moored themselves on either side of the fishing boat, now in international waters between the two countries. Each side wants the other to back off so they can tow the fishing boat back to their respective countries, the South Korean foreign ministry said.
[...]
The incident started on May 31 at around 11:30 p.m., when the Japanese coast guard says it found the South Korean fishing boat "Shingpoong" operating 3 kilometers within Japan's territorial waters on the sea that lies between the two countries, the ministry statement said. The patrol boat stopped and tried to board the fishing boat resulting in one of its servicemen falling overboard.
The fishing boat fled with two Japanese coast guard officials on board before they were returned, Japan's Kyodo News reported late yesterday.
The fishing boat evaded the Japanese coast guard and crossed into international territories after midnight. The crewmen of Shinpoong radioed for assistance from South Korean authorities, prompting a South Korean patrol boat to come to its aid. Other boats from both sides later joined in the standoff.
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"It's mine!"
"No, I got here first!"
"It came from my side of the room!"
Have you already forgotten all the Russian "fishing" boats of yesteryear?
