TOKYO (AP) - The Japanese coast guard says its patrol boats have been pushing back hundreds of North Korean boats trying to poach in fishing grounds rich with squid off Japan's northern coast.

Coast Guard officials said Tuesday they have forced more than 300 North Korean boats out of Japan's exclusive economic zone near Yamatotai since May.

The patrol boats used water cannons on 50 North Korean boats that ignored warnings.

Coast Guard footage obtained Tuesday showed North Korean crewmen on a wooden boat abandon a fishing rope after being sprayed water.

Japanese authorities have stepped up patrols in the area as North Korean poaching has surged in recent years.

Experts say Pyongyang's campaign to boost fish harvests has increased poaching by North Korean boats.

In this late May, 2019, image from video provided by Japan Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard patrol boat sprays water to a North Korean fishing boat after the fishing boat didn't ignore the warning to evacuate in the waters near Yamatotai, Japan. Japanese Coast Guard says its patrol boats have been pushing back hundreds of North Korean poachers swarming toward fishing grounds off Japan's northern coast.(Japan Coast Guard via AP)

In this late May, 2019, photo provided by Japan Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel approaches a North Korean fishing boat to warn them to leave the waters near Yamatotai, Japan. Coast Guard officials said Tuesday, June 18, they have forced more than 300 North Korean poachers out of Japan's exclusive economic zone since May near Yamatotai rich with squid. (Japan Coast Guard via AP)

This late May, 2019, photo provided by Japan Coast Guard shows two North Korean fishing boats leaving the waters near Yamatotai, Japan. Coast Guard officials said Tuesday, June 18, they have forced more than 300 North Korean poachers out of Japan's exclusive economic zone since May near Yamatotai rich with squid. (Japan Coast Guard via AP) </s> The Japanese coast guard says its patrol boats have been pushing back hundreds of North Korean boats trying to poach in fishing grounds rich with squid off Japan's northern coast.

Coast Guard officials said Tuesday they have forced more than 300 North Korean boats out of Japan's exclusive economic zone near Yamatotai since May.

The patrol boats used water cannons on 50 North Korean boats that ignored warnings.

Coast Guard footage obtained Tuesday showed North Korean crewmen on a wooden boat abandon a fishing rope after being sprayed water.

Japanese authorities have stepped up patrols in the area as North Korean poaching has surged in recent years.

Experts say Pyongyang's campaign to boost fish harvests has increased poaching by North Korean boats. </s> TOKYO - The Japanese coast guard says its patrol boats have been pushing back hundreds of North Korean boats trying to poach in fishing grounds rich with squid off Japan’s northern coast.

Coast Guard officials said Tuesday they have forced more than 300 North Korean boats out of Japan’s exclusive economic zone near Yamatotai since May. </s> The Japanese coast guard said Tuesday its patrol boats have been pushing back hundreds of North Korean boats trying to poach in fishing grounds rich with squid off Japan's northern coast.

More than 300 North Korean boats have been forced out of Japan's exclusive economic zone near Yamatotai since May, the coast guard said in a statement.

The Japanese patrol boats also used water cannons on 50 North Korean boats that ignored warnings.

Coast guard footage showed North Korean crewmen on a wooden boat abandon a fishing rope after being sprayed water.

Japanese authorities have stepped up patrols in the area as North Korean poaching has surged in recent years.

Experts say the growing number of poachers may be related Pyongyang's campaign to boost fish harvests to obtain dietary protein as the nation struggles to achieve food self-sufficiency and to overcome health problems caused by poor diets. To reach their quotas, fishermen from the North may be taking more risks and venturing farther from their usual waters, often violating Japan's 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, experts say.

Fisheries officials have said they believe that scores of dilapidated wooden boats that have washed ashore in northern Japan in a seasonal influx in recent years could be part of those poachers that fail to return home due to accidents or bad weather.

A record 225 of the so-called "ghost boats" washed up on northern Japanese coasts last year, more than twice the number recorded in the previous year, according to the coast guard.

© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> The Japanese coast guard revealed on Tuesday they have pushed out over 300 North Korean fishing boats attempting to poach squid from within their territorial waters.

Coast guard officials said in a statement that as many as 300 North Korean vessels have been identified and pushed out from within Japanese fishing waters since May. In around 50 cases, Japanese patrol boats deployed water cannons against boats that ignored warnings.

All the reported incidents took place within the 200-square mile Yamatotai fishing region off of Japan’s northern coast, famous for its rich squid population that drives Japan’s fishing industry.

Coast guard officials confirmed that another 225 abandoned North Korean vessels had washed ashore onto Japanese beaches last year, likely a result of accidents or bad weather.

The Japanese coast guard has been forced to increase the number of territorial water patrols in recent years amid a surge in North Korean poaching. Experts believe the surge in poaching is likely an effort by Pyongyang to boost their food harvests to help feed a population that remains chronically malnourished.

A United Nations report released last month warned that North Korea’s economy remained in dire shape as a result of crippling U.S.-led sanctions, leaving citizens to bribe regime officials in order to access basic living essentials. The communist regime strictly regulates the food supply to ensure that those highest in the nation’s songbun caste system do not experience declines in their quality of life, at the expense of everyone else in the country.

“The rights to food, health, shelter, work, freedom of movement and liberty are universal and inalienable, but in North Korea, they depend primarily on the ability of individuals to bribe State officials,” said Michelle Bachelet, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in her report.

A recent joint report by the U.N. and the World Food Program found that the communist state had been forced to cut food rations after experiencing its worst harvest in ten years.

“This new food security assessment…has found that following the worst harvest in 10 years, due to dry spells, heat waves and flooding, 10.1 million people suffer from severe food insecurity, meaning they do not have enough food till the next harvest,” said WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel.

Both reports were angrily rejected by Pyongyang, who described them as “politically motivated for sinister purposes”.

“Such reports are nothing more than fabrication … as they are always based on the so-called testimonies of ‘defectors’ who provide fabricated information to earn their living or are compelled to do so under duress or enticement,” North Korean officials said in a statement.

Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com </s> In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, members of the Philippine Coast Guard, left, approach the almost sunken fishing boat of Filipino fishermen who were killed by suspected pirates in waters near Zamboanga City, southern Philippines Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. Several Filipino fishermen were killed after a group of suspected pirates boarded a fishing boat in southern Philippine waters and strafed the crew, officials said Tuesday. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP) In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, members of the Philippine Coast Guard, left, approach the almost sunken fishing boat of Filipino fishermen who were killed by suspected pirates in waters near Zamboanga City, southern Philippines Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. Several Filipino fishermen were killed after a group of suspected pirates boarded a fishing boat in southern Philippine waters and strafed the crew, officials said Tuesday. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)

Gunmen in southern Philippine waters killed one crewman of a Vietnamese vessel and abducted seven in what appeared to be the latest attack by pirates in the area, the Philippine coastguard said on Monday. Coastguard and marine soldiers rescued 17 Vietnamese who were part of the 25-man crew of MV Giang Hai, which was attacked on Sunday evening near Baguan Island in Tawi-Tawi, an area close to the stronghold of the notorious Abu Sayyaf militant group.

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An investigation was underway and the coastguard had launched a pursuit in coordination with the military and police, said coastguard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo. Well armed and equipped with fast boats and high-tech navigation devices, the Abu Sayyaf is a stubborn problem for the Philippine military, which has failed to curtail piracy and kidnappings in the area, despite major troop deployments in the in the Sulu Archipelago.

The Islamic State-linked group has been involved in frequent acts of piracy and has beheaded captives when ransom demands have not been met. Before the latest attack, the militants were holding 27 hostages, according to a tally of reports about kidnappings and a few releases.

The captives are Indonesian, Malaysian and Vietnamese seamen, as well as Filipinos, a Dutchman, a German and a Japanese national. A surge in piracy off parts of the Philippines is forcing ship-owners to divert vessels through other waters, pushing up costs and shipping times. President Rodrigo Duterte said last month he had asked China for help in the fight against the militants by sending ships to patrol the dangerous waters. </s> Relations between Jakarta and Beijing, which are not always smooth sailing, took a new twist last Friday when Indonesia unrolled a map depicting an expansion to its maritime territory with the naming of the waters off its northern perimeter North Natuna Sea.

Although it lies in Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the waters north of the Natuna Islands bordering the South China Sea have no name and are often designated, albeit loosely, as part of the latter.

The move comes as Jakarta continues to woo investors, particularly from China and Japan, to participate in its infrastructure works.

President Joko Widodo has, since his term started in October 2014, looked to infrastructure development to boost South-east Asia's largest economy.

Chinese and Japanese investors have been invited into the energy and transport sectors. The electricity penetration rate is low in Indonesia and logistic costs are among the highest in South-east Asia due to traffic snarls caused by poor access roads. There is also a dearth of good sea ports in Indonesia.

China Railway Corp is building the US$5 billion (S$6.9 billion) Jakarta-Bandung high speed train, while China Power Investment Corp and Anhui Conch Cement are major players in other infrastructure projects.

Also, Jakarta and Beijing in the past few years have been managing tensions over maritime issues off Natuna Islands. Mr Joko has visited the Natunas several times in recent years to underline the country's seriousness in protecting its fishing grounds from poaching.

In March last year, Jakarta accused a Chinese coast guard vessel of trying to forcibly prevent the detention of a Chinese fishing boat seized by the Indonesian authorities near the Natunas. Jakarta said the boat was fishing illegally in Indonesian waters. Beijing said the incident took place in China's "traditional fishing grounds". There have been other run-ins.

The new maritime map could change that equation.

"For now, the ball is in China's court. Indonesia has made its position clear on the new map, based on the recently completed delimitation agreements with Singapore and the Philippines as well as, significantly, the July 2016 tribunal ruling," Mr Evan Laksmana, a researcher at Indonesia's Centre for Strategic and International Studies, told The Straits Times.

In July last year, an arbitral tribunal in The Hague handed Manila a sweeping victory in a case it filed challenging Beijing's expansive claims to the South China Sea. The tribunal confirmed the Philippines' jurisdiction over its EEZ.

China boycotted the proceedings and has refused to acknowledge the Philippines' jurisdiction.

Beijing continues to hold on to its U-shaped "nine-dash line" claims that extend from its Hainan island, south to Borneo to pass by north of the Natunas, and north to Taiwan.

University of Indonesia international law expert Hikmahanto Juwana said Jakarta's updated map serves to assert its position that it does not recognise China's nine- dash line claim, which was also not recognised by the Hague's tribunal.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, when asked about the naming of North Natuna Sea on Friday, said: "The so-called change of name makes no sense at all and is not conductive to the effort of the international standardisation of the name of places."

Indonesia's Deputy Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs Arif Havas Oegroseno on Friday said Jakarta has been updating its maps for decades. </s> MOSCOW — Russia says one North Korean fisherman was killed and eight others injured when Russian border guards opened fire on a fishing trawler.

The Federal Security Service, which includes coastal and border guards, says the clash took place Saturday after the trawler Dae Yong No. 10 entered Russian waters in the Sea of Japan.

The security service, known by its acronym FSB, said in a statement that border guards detained the boat and found "illegally obtained aquatic bio-resources."

The statement says the ship then attempted to flee while its crewmembers tried to wrest weapons from the Russian guards. A Russian coast guard ship fired at the trawler's propulsion system, disabling it, and on the North Korean crewmen, the statement said. </s> HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's foreign minister has asked his Indonesian counterpart to investigate and clarify reports that the Indonesian navy shot and wounded two Vietnamese fishermen in the South China Sea, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

Pham Binh Minh told Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi by telephone that the reported incident was "very serious ... and not appropriate with the strategic partnership relationship between Vietnam and Indonesia," the Vietnamese foreign ministry said in a statement.

 "Vietnam is deeply concerned about this incident and proposes Indonesia to quickly investigate and clarify the incident and inform Vietnam of the results and to stop repeating similar acts," Minh was quoting as saying.

 Earlier this week, a local Vietnamese sea rescue committee said Indonesia's navy had shot and wounded Vietnamese fishermen aboard a fishing boat in the South China Sea last weekend.

 The Vietnamese boat was about 132 nautical miles (245 km) southeast of Vietnam's Con Dao island when the fishermen were shot on Saturday night, the Binh Dinh provincial search and rescue committee said on its website.

 The report was pulled off the website the next day. 

 The Indonesian navy has yet to comment on the incident.

 Disputes over fishing rights and oil drilling have stoked tension in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in goods is shipped each year.

 China claims almost the entire sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also have claims.

 Although Indonesia says it is not a party to the dispute, it recently renamed the northern reaches of its exclusive economic zone, asserting its own maritime claim.

 The coordinates given by the Vietnamese search and rescue committee indicated that the shooting happened close to the area Indonesia now calls the North Natuna Sea.

 Indonesia has sunk hundreds of mostly foreign boats caught illegally fishing in its waters since President Joko Widodo launched a crackdown on the poaching of fish in 2014.

 Indonesia and Vietnam said in May they would launch a joint investigation after reports that Vietnamese coast guards had tried to forcibly free five fishing boats and their crew detained in waters near Indonesia's Natuna Islands.

 

 (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Additional reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe in Jakarta; Editing by Catherine Evans)
The Japanese coast guard says its patrol boats have been pushing back hundreds of North Korean boats trying to poach in fishing grounds rich with squid off Japan's northern coast.