Captain released; China wants Japan to apologise

Beijing, Sep 25: Insisting that the detention of the Chinese trawler and its crew was "unlawful", China has now demanded an apology from Japan even after the realease of the fishing boat captain.

“Japan"s detention, investigation and any forms of judiciary measures for the Chinese trawler and fishermen are unlawful and invalid," China"s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Japan must apologize and compensate for this incident," added the statement posted on the ministry's website on Friday, Sep 24.

The statement came after the trawler's captain, Zhan Qixiong arrived in Fuzhou in China"s southeastern province of Fujian early on Sep 24 after a 17-day detention.

Before releasing the Captain, Japan had released the crew members of the the Chinese fishing boat that collided with two Japanese coast guard vessels earlier this month. The 14 crew members reached China on Sep 13.

The 41-year-old captain, however, was arrested and detained for a longer period on suspicion of obstructing officers on duty.

This snowballing stand-off between the two Asian giants is considered to be the worst in the recent past.

OneIndia News