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The 2010 Senkaku Boat Collision Incident (or the Minjinyu 5179 Incident) occurred on September 7, 2010, when Chinese trawler Minjinyu 5179 collided with Japanese Coast Guard's patrol boat near the Senkaku Islands.

Several JCG boats were involved, including Yonakuni and Mizuki, which collided with Minjinyu5179, plus Hateruma and other JCG boats.

The collision and Japan's subsequent detention of the skipper (Zhan Qixiong) resulted in a major diplomatic dispute between China and Japan. When China's repeated demands for the release of the skipper were ignored and the detention of the skipper was extended for another 10 days, the Chinese government canceled official meetings of ministrial level or above. It was reported (though China repeatedly denied this) that China halted exports of rare earth minerals to Japan.

The detained Chinese crew members were released without charge and were allowed to return to home. The overall event is perceived as a diplomatic victory in China, while it raised a wide-spread criticism toward Japanese government's "weak-kneed" handling of the issue in Japan.

Background

The Senkaku islands are currently administered by Japan and claimed by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China. In 2008 a sports fishing boat from Taiwan Lien Ho was rammed into and sunk by JCG patrol ships and resulted in an official apology and monetary compensation of NT$10 millions paid by Japan. Multiple events involving JCG and fishing boats from nearby Chinese provinces and Taiwan were involved since 1972.

Details of the incident

According to JCG, the partol boat Mizuki which belongs to 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters encountered Minjinyu 5179 at about 10:15 (JST) on September 7, 2010. Mizuki ordered Minjinyu 5179 to stop for inspection since Minjinyu 5179 was traveling 12 km (7.45 miles) north-west of the Senkaku Islands, which is within the Japanese claimed territorial waters. Minjinyu 5179 refused the order and attempted to flee from the scene. During the chase and interception, Minjinyu 5179 collided with JCG's patrol vessels. On September 8, 2010, JCG made a boarding and arrested the captain of the Chinese trawler for obstruction of performance of public duty and illegal fishing. The trawler, the captain, along with 14 crew members, were transported to Ishigaki Island of Japan for detention. An investigator spoke to a press that he smelled alcohol on the arrested captain but apparently no alcohol test results were ever released.

In response to the arrest, Chinese government made a series of diplomatic protests. Demanding for the immediately release of the trawler and all its crew, China summoned Uichiro Niwa, the Japanese ambassador to China in Beijing, six times, each time with an official of higher diplomatic rank, once after midnight. The trawler and 14 of the crew members (except the captain Zhan) were released after the sixth summons on September 13, 2010.

Chronology of events

• 7 September 2010: A Chinese fishing trawler collided with two Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats in disputed waters near the islands. The collisions occurred around 10am in the morning after the Japanese Coast Guard ordered the trawler to leave the area. After the collisions, Japanese sailors boarded the Chinese vessel and arrested the captain Zhan Qixiong.
• 13 September 2010: The trawler and 14 crew members were released and returned to China. The captain Zhan Qixiong remained detained in Naha.
• 20 September 2010: China takes 4 Japanese employees of Fujita Corp. hostage.
• 22 September 2010: Chinese premier Wen Jiabao threatened further action if the captain of the Chinese fishing trawler were not released.
• 24 September 2010: Japan released the Chinese captain, stating keeping the captain in custody would not be appropriate and raised considerable impact on Sino-Japan relations.
• 25 September 2010: China demanded an apology and compensation from Japan for holding the Chinese boat captain in the collision incident. Japan rejected the Chinese demand.
• 27 September 2010: Japan said they would counter-claim against China for damage to their patrol boats in the collision.
• 6 October 2010: Joint USA/Japan drill is planned on defending the Okinawa in December but Japanese Prime Minister Kan Naoto told the parliament that the joint military exercise does not have the islands specifically in mind.
• 9 October 2010: Fujita employees released.
• 4 November: Leaked video footages of the collision appeared on Youtube by an uploader called sengoku38.
• 9 November: Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office of Japan launched an investigation against Google.
• 15 November: Japanese police and prosecutors announced that they would not arrest anyone for the YouTube incident.

Response in Japan

Government and DPJ

The Japanese government claims that there is no territorial dispute over the Senkaku islands. On September 14, 2010, then-Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Seiji Maehara repeatedly asserted this standpoint.

Protests

On 2 October 2010, Large scale anti-Chinese protests occurred in Tokyo and six other cities in Japan.

On 6 November, an anti-Chinese demonstration was held in Hibiya Park.

Response in Mainland China

Protests

Response in Taiwan

Response in other countries

United States

On September 23, 2010, United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara that Senkaku and nearby waters are covered by the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan which obligates the United States to defend Japanese territory from third-party countries, and maintained USA does not have a position regarding the sovereignty of the islands. At the press conference held on the same day, United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spoke regarding the dispute that in the event of military conflict on the Senkaku islands, "Washington would honor its military commitment to intervene". When a reporter posed the same question, to clarify an earlier Kyodo report that "US changed its position", similar statements were said during a US State Department Press Conference a month ago on August 16, 2010, "The U.S. position on this issue is longstanding and has not changed. The United States does not take a position on the question of the ultimate sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands. We expect the claimants to resolve this issue through peaceful means among themselves. But Article 5 of the 1960 U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security states that the treaty applies to the territories under the administration of Japan. There’s no change. That (Kyodo) report is incorrect."

At the press conference on September 23, 2010, United States Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley stated in response to a question whether Senkaku islands are covered by the security treat that "We do believe that because the Senkaku Islands are under Japanese jurisdiction, that it is covered by the U.S.-Japan security treaty. That said, we also stress that we don’t take a position on the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands, but recognize current Japanese jurisdiction stemming back to the reversion of Okinawa to Japan."

Video of incident

Internal circulation

The Japanese government was unwilling to release the videos, originally stating that the videos may constitute evidence in a future court case. Trying to avoid further provoking China is another reason cited for not releasing the videos. Upon repeated demands from legislators in the Diet from some members in various parties (DPJ and LDP included), a viewing was finally arranged on 1 November 2010. During the viewing, only an edited version of 6'50" duration was seen.

The leak

On November 4, 2010, video footage of the collisions taken by the Japan Coast Guard was leaked on YouTube, and authorities later confirmed authenticity of the video clips. The leaked clips totaled 44 minutes, but was taken down about ten hours later with the original poster sengoku38's account deleted. However, the original video is said to run more than two hours. This is supported by the fact that in some of the videos other crew members were holding video cameras doing recordings.

It was later revealed that the leak was done by a Japan Coast Guard Navigator from the Kobe Coast Guard Office. He had originally send a copy of the footage of the incident onto a memory card to the Japan offices of CNN, before he uploaded the video to Youtube after CNN did not post the contents of the memory card.

Reactions to the leak and the video clips

The Japanese government views the leak as a breach of confidentiality and security. Contrary to Naoto Kan government's claim/fear that releasing the video might upset China, the Chinese government does not seem to mind the leak, stating that "The so-called video cannot either change such a fact or cover up Japan's illegality". A few hours later China MoFA spokeman Hong Lei said, "I would like to reiterate that the Japanese patrol boats had disturbed, driven away, intercepted, surrounded the Chinese fishing boat, which led to the collision."

Meanwhile both Japanese civilian and Chinese civilians and media in mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan welcomed the leak citing their rights to know, and each viewed the content of the video as presenting evidence favorable to his own cause in the dispute . Japanese claim the videos show Minjinyu 5179 rammed into JCG boats Yonakuni and Mizuki. Chinese claim that the two JCG boats cut in front of the Chinese trawler abruptly and are equally responsible for the collision, citing the much smaller size and slower speed of the Minjinyu 5179 and the wake of the JCG boats left in front of Minjinyu5179.

Although Youtube is blocked inside mainland China, the videos were quickly reproduced in many Chinese websites.

Links to the leaked video clips

• 1. Japan Coast Guard orders the fishing boat to stop on YouTube
• 2. Chinese trawler Minjinyu5179 pulls back round haul nets on YouTube
• 3. Chinese trawler Minjinyu5179 attempts to evade on YouTube
• 4. Chinese trawler Minjinyu5179 collides with JCG's patrol vessel Yonakuni at 2:11, video taken by Yonakuni on YouTube
• 5. Chinese trawler Minjinyu5179 collides again with another JCG's vessel Mizuki at 1:10, video taken by Mizuki on YouTube, Chinese trawler Minjinyu5179 collides with Mizuki video with English subtitles on YouTube
• 6. Mizuki-Minjinyu5179 Collision captured from a different angle by JCG boat Hateruma at a distance on YouTube

See also

• Senkaku Islands dispute
• 2010 Eocheong boat collision incident

References

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2. "China signals V for victory". Asia Times. October 5, 2010.
3. "Kan seeks intl stage for Senkaku spat solution". The Yomiuri Shimbun. Semptember 29, 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. ^ "High-seas collisions trigger Japan-China spat". AFP. September 7, 2010.
5. Asiatimes
6. "Japan's arrest of captain angers Beijing". Financial Times. September 8, 2010.
7. "尖閣諸島近海　海保巡視船に接触の中国人船長を逮捕　石垣島". Sankei Shimbun. September 8, 2010.
8. "尖閣ビデオ内容判明　中国漁船、加速して衝突　「故意」裏付け　船長は飲酒か". Sankei Shimbun. October 28, 2010.
9. "China demands compensation over captured sailor". ABC News. September 26, 2010.
10. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-10-17/china-wants-to-mend-ties-with-japanese-after-protest.html
11. Yahoo News. "http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100922/ap_on_re_as/as_china_japan_ships_collide" Article. Retrieved on 2010-09-22.
12. Japan to free Chinese boat captain.
13. Taiwan probing report on U.S.-Japan joint exercise over Tiaoyutai
14. Japan gov't support slides on handling of China row The China Post of Taiwan, 5 October 2010
15. Sankei
16. Coast guard probed over video leak
17. "Looking less like a secret". The Japan Times. November 18, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
18. "Resolving the China-Japan Conflict Over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands". Japan Focus. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://japanfocus.org/-Wada-Haruki/3433" ignored (help)
19. "Tokyo Protests Blast China's Response to Collision". THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
20. "China accused of invading disputed islands". CNN. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
21. "Japan protesters rally over China, Kan as APEC looms". Reuters. November 6, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
22. "Tokyo, Beijing ties are still vulnerable". The Asahi Simbun. November 1, 2010.
23. "U.S. Supports Japan, Confronts China And Russia Over Island Disputes". Eurasis Review. November 4, 2010.
24. "Remarks to the Press August 16". U.S. Department of States.
25. "Remarks to the Press September 23". U.S. Department of States.
26. "Diet panels view Senkaku run-in video". Japan Times. November 2, 2010 (EST). {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
27. ^ "HVideo of China-Japan ship collision leaked on YouTube". AFP. November 4, 2010 (EST). {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
28. "尖閣の衝突画像、ネット流出＝海保が確認、国会提出分以外も". Jiji Press. November 5, 2010.
29. "Diet panels view Senkaku run-in video, fault trawler". The Japan Times. Nov. 2, 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
30. "JCG officer 'mailed Senkaku video to CNN'". Yomiuri Shimbun. Nov. 26, 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
31. China News Headlines | Hong Kong's premier newspaper online | SCMP.com
32. "Xinhua report".
33. "Strait Times". Nov 6 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
34. "Global Times report".
35. "Press clippings and translation".
36. "Video clippings and analysis".

• Disputed islands
• Islands of Japan
• Islands of China
• Islands of Taiwan
• Territorial disputes of Japan
• Territorial disputes of the People's Republic of China
• Territorial disputes of the Republic of China