China to investigate RI Navy shooting

China to investigate RI Navy shooting

Associated Press, Beijing

China will send a fact-finding mission to Jakarta to investigate the Indonesian navy's fatal shooting of a Chinese fisherman in Indonesian waters, and the Chinese vessel company will demand compensation for the attack, official media reported.

The official Xinhua News Agency said on Sunday that representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture would hold talks with their Indonesian counterparts following the Sept. 19 incident in which the fisherman was killed and two of his comrades wounded.

The three were aboard one of four Chinese fishing vessels that the Indonesian navy says were suspected of using illegal fishing nets in the Arafura sea off New Guinea island.

The four Chinese fishing boats did not respond to radio and visual signals, the navy said, and tried to flee after warning shots were fired.

It said the Indonesian warship KRI Tanjung Dalpele fired several rounds from a 20 mm gun at MV Fu Yuan Yu-132, the largest of the four Chinese fishing vessels.

Xinhua's Sunday report said the owner of the Chinese vessel would ask for compensation from Indonesian authorities but did not specify an amount.

It said the owner had already sent 10,000 yuan (US$1,233) to the family of Nie Weijiang, the slain fisherman.

On Friday, Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang summoned Indonesia's charge d'affairs in Beijing to express "astonishment and strong dissatisfaction" over the "inhumane" incident, Xinhua reported.

Xinhua said 10 Chinese crew members, including the two wounded in the incident, were still being detained in Indonesia.