Harrowing Trip for Chinese Trawler Before Bump in Territorial Tensions

Southeast Asian nations are also angry that Chinas fishing armada, supported by its vigilant coast guard, is plying waters that offer diminishing stocks of fish.

Last month, about 100 Chinese fishing boats were found by the Malaysians inside their waters in the South China Sea, accompanied by two Chinese Coast Guard vessels, the Malaysian authorities said.

Vietnam said it had recently seized a Chinese vessel, disguised as a fishing boat in the Gulf of Tonkin, that was carrying 100,000 liters of fuel to resupply Chinese fishing boats.

The coast guard is responsible for rescuing Chinese fishing vessels when NYC Asian escort they are discovered in other countries waters, Mr. Martinson said.

Most of the disputes are inside the so-called nine dashes, an area drawn by China in the 1940s that covers more than 80 percent of the South China Sea, though it is not recognized by international law.

In response to Chinas bold stance, the Indonesian defense minister, Ryamizard Ryacudu, said he would deploy F-16s to the Natuna Islands, Indonesias northernmost point in the South China Sea, to deter what he called thieves, in reference to the Chinese.

The Nine Dashes

Chinas historical

territorial claim

The Nine Dashes

Chinas historical

territorial claim

Indonesias fisheries minister, Susi Pudjiastuti, said Indonesia felt sabotaged. The Chinese boat was well inside Indonesias 200-mile exclusive economic zone, which is recognized by international law and overlaps with the nine-dash line.

The members of the Chinese fishing crew were detained on the Natuna Islands, and the most senior members, including the captain, are likely to face charges, Ms. Pudjiastuti said.

The Indonesians were justified in their irritation, Mr. Martinson said. Chinas claim to jurisdiction over waters within Indonesias exclusive economic zone on the basis of the nine-dash line is preposterous, he said. When you add the aggressive pursuit to the territorial sea and the ramming, it is very easy to understand the Indonesian anger.

In Beijing, the Foreign Ministry defended the fishing trawler, saying it was operating in traditional Chinese fishing grounds, the phrase China often uses in reference to the nine-dash line.

Back home, Mr. Zhang has been called the lucky fisherman who got away.

He talked about his ordeal from the docks here in Beihai, where fishing vessels that travel all over the South China Sea bring back their hauls, including stingrays, baby sharks and squid.

As the noontime sun was beating down on the fishing boat, and the crew was on deck cleaning the fishing nets of debris from the sea, someone called, A gunboat is coming, Mr. Zhang said.

It took them about 30 minutes to get near, he said. I heard two shots pa, pa and the sound of their vessel knocking on our ship. Their boat was too small to crash into a large ship like ours. Soon I heard more intensified shooting.

Ms. Pudjiastuti, the fisheries minister, said the men on the vessel had been lightly armed.

Three Indonesians in dark green camouflage and helmets boarded the trawler and told the members of the crew to squat with their hands on their heads, Mr. Zhang said. They were ordered onto the Indonesian boat, but soon he and the captain were summoned back to their vessel to turn on the engines.



By that time, he said, the captain had alerted the Chinese Coast Guard of their predicament. With the three Indonesians still on board, Mr. Zhang said, he drove the boat at less than maximum speed, hoping the coast guard would rescue them before they reached Indonesia.



He was sleeping when the captain yelled that the Chinese Coast Guard had arrived. The Chinese Coast Guard vessel was huge, Mr. Zhang said. They were more than twice our size. They announced over a loudspeaker: This is the Chinese Coast Guard.

When the coast guard cutter rammed the trawler to free it, the Indonesian police officers who had remained aboard with Mr. Zhang ramped up the engines to try to get away.

In the commotion, one of the engines almost ran out of oil, sending up clouds of New York escort white smoke. The Indonesians fled, taking the Chinese captain with them and leaving Mr. Zhang all alone to fix the engine.

The Chinese Coast Guard called out to him: Can you drive the boat? I said, So-so.

Mr. Zhang said the two boats had then traveled together for about a week back to Beihai.

At the dock, the boat owner, Chen Jifa, said he was confident the Chinese government had the power to arrange the return of the detained crew.

When asked if the trawler had been fishing in Indonesian territorial waters, Mr. Zhang said: Im not quite sure. Im only an engineer. Then he added with a laugh, But it is probable.

Correction: April 9, 2016

An earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to the Natuna Islands in Indonesia. While they are the northernmost point of Indonesia in the South China Sea, they are not the northernmost point in the country.

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