China angry over N. Korea`s hijacking of fishing boat

With a Chinese fishing boat confirmed to have been hijacked by North Korea, anti-North Korea sentiment in China is mounting anew. As circumstantial evidence has been made public to suggest that the hijacking incident has been caused by collusion by North Korean pirates and military, attention is focusing on whether the incident will affect Pyongyang-Beijing relations that have deteriorated since the North’s third nuclear test.

The Chinese foreign ministry confirmed Monday through its account in Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, hijacking by North Korea of a Chinese fishing boat based in Dalian, China and 16 fishermen, an issue that was raised first by Chinese media on Sunday. “The Chinese Embassy in North Korea confirmed the hijacking by North Korea of the Chinese fishing ship Liaopuyu No. 25222,” the ministry said, “After the owner of the ship called the Chinese Embassy on May 10, the embassy immediately requested for negotiations to the North’s foreign ministry and demanded release of the boat and fishermen.”

The latest incident has added fuel to mounting anti-North Korea sentiment in China, which already reached a boiling point. Internet sources showed a flurry of criticisms suggesting that “China provided aid to North Korea every year, and they are no better than X,” adding, “What do we need to do more to help that fat guy Kim Jong Un.” Some in China even went as far as proposing that China strike North Korea.

While taking a rest after completing fishing work at waters some 70 kilometers off North Korean coast in the Yellow Sea on May 10, the Liaopuyu No. 25222 was seized by armed North Koreans at the pretext of illegal fishing, and handed over to North Korean patrol boats.

China’s state-run Global Times reported that North Korean soldiers boarded the Chinese fishing boat and skillfully uninstalled global positioning system devices and forfeit communications equipment there. The kidnappers telephoned the ship owner eight times and demanded him to transfer some 600,000 yuan (about 100,000 U.S. dollars) to a bank account in the name of a company in Dandong, Liaoning Province by 5 p.m. on Monday.

In a bid to prevent the incident from escalating further, China is approaching the case via the consular channel, but analysts say that if resolution of the incident gets delayed, Pyongyang-Beijing ties will inevitably deteriorate.