Life of Guangzhou - Experts Assess Impact of Island Dispute

China made a strong protest Wednesday over Japan's arrest of the captain of a Chinese boat, one day after it collided with two Japanese patrol boats near the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, a sign of an escalating diplomatic row between the two Asian countries.

Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue summoned Japanese ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa Wednesday to lodge the protest, demanding that Japan immediately release the ship and crewmembers aboard and ensure their safety.

The Japanese Coast Guard arrested the Chinese trawler's captain, Zhan Qi-xiong, on suspicion of "obstructing public duties" in connection with collisions with Coast Guard patrol boats, according to Japanese Coast Guard spokeswoman Akane Yonemori.

The Coast Guard arrested none of the other 14 onboard, all Chinese, but had the ship carrying them move to an area off the Ishigaki and remain there during the captain's questioning, Kyoto News reported Wednesday.

The arrest of the Chinese captain came after two Japanese patrol boats and the Chinese fishing boat collided in waters off the Diaoyu Islands within 40 minutes, according to the Japanese Coast Guard.

The two countries exchanged protests against each other over the collision. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao lodged a protest with Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa. While in Tokyo, Mitsuru Kitano, deputy director general of the ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, lodged the protest with Liu Shaobin, minister-counselor at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, Kyodo News reported.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Jiang Yu had expressed grave concern over the incident Tuesday.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku told reporters Wednesday that the incident wouldn't affect Japan- China relations, urging both sides to handle the matter calmly and firmly, Kyodo reported.

Demonstrators held a small demonstration outside Japan's embassy in Beijing to demand the release of the captain.

More than 30 people, holding up banners and Chinese flags, gathered in the 40-minute demonstration. One of the banners said, "Japan, get out of the Diaoyu Islands. Get out," a witness surnamed Li told the Global Times.

"Japan's arrest of the Chinese captain is a form of illegal kidnapping," said Li Nan, a protestor on the site, urging Japan to leave the islands and to release the Chinese captain.

Liu Jiangyong, deputy director of the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University, said the people in both countries should be calm, as adverse sentiments could hurt Sino- Japanese relations and China's national interests in the long run.

"The settlement of the Diaoyu Islands cannot be attained through provoking conflicts like this. Only diplomatic talks by the two governments can ultimately resolve the dispute," Liu said.

[More China News]