TOKYO, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- The captain of a Chinese trawler that collided with Japanese patrol ships will be held in detention for 10 days, a court in Okinawa ruled.
The Japanese Coast Guard arrested the captain of the Chinese vessel early Wednesday, resulting in a protest from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Xinhua reported.
Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue summoned Uichiro Niwa, Japanese ambassador to China, to lodge the protest.
The Chinese captain was arrested on suspicion of "obstructing public duties" in connection with collisions with Coast Guard patrol boats off the Diaoyu Islands, Japanese media reported.
The crew members will also be questioned.
"The Japanese vessel is 89 (294 feet) meters long, very tall and wide," Zhu Tianzhu, owner of detained boat, said.
"Ours is a fishing boat, it is just 37 meters (122 feet) long. They must have been chasing our boat and we must have been running away. Several of our boats have had this happen. The Japanese side says the Diaoyu Islands are theirs," Zhu said.
The uninhabited Diaoyu Islands, located northeast of Taiwan and due west of Okinawa, have been controlled by Japan since 1972, but are also claimed by both the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China.
