Argentina’s coast guard has sunk a Chinese trawler that was fishing illegally within its territorial waters, the Latin America’s coast guard said on Tuesday, marking a first test for relations between President Mauricio Macri and Beijing.
A coast guard vessel pursued the fishing vessel Lu Yan Yuan Yu 010 toward international waters in a high-seas chase on Monday, firing warning shots across the Chinese boat’s bow as it attempted to raise the crew by radio.
“On several occasions, the offending ship performed maneuvers designed to force a collision with the coast guard, putting at risk not only its own crew but coast guard personnel, who were then ordered to shoot parts of the vessel,” the coast guard said in a statement.
The crew abandoned ship when the vessel began to go down. Four crewmen were rescued by the coast guard while others were picked up by another Chinese vessel shadowing the pursuit.
China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement the Chinese government had lodged a protest over the incident and were demanding an explanation.
