Beijing Silent Over Fishermen Detained by Russia

Beijing is silent over scores of Chinese fishermen and boats detained by Russian border patrols this year.
Beijing Silent Over Fishermen Detained by Russia
11/22/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/100205004258459--ss.jpg" alt="The largest Chinese market in Moscow was shut down on June 29, 2009 when the Russian government conducted checks on food and fire safety violations and confiscated smuggled goods. The market has since diminished. (AFP/Getty Images)" title="The largest Chinese market in Moscow was shut down on June 29, 2009 when the Russian government conducted checks on food and fire safety violations and confiscated smuggled goods. The market has since diminished. (AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1811823"/></a>
The largest Chinese market in Moscow was shut down on June 29, 2009 when the Russian government conducted checks on food and fire safety violations and confiscated smuggled goods. The market has since diminished. (AFP/Getty Images)
Beijing is silent over the scores of Chinese fishermen and boats that have been detained by Russian border patrols this year.

Russian Far-East border guards have confiscated 17 Chinese boats and arrested 53 Chinese fishermen who trespassed the border on the Amur and Ussuri rivers in 2010. In addition, 760 Chinese boats were expelled from Russian waters, and a total of 20 boats were inspected in 2010. The Chinese Party central has remained silent.

Such border seizures took place almost daily. Chinese fisherman often try to fish in the Russian territory of the Amur River and Ussuri River, and they often respond with resistance and hostility when confronted by Russian border guards, a spokesperson for the Russian Khabarovsk Border Guard Service said in a Russian News Network report on Nov. 16.

On the same day, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s newsroom reported that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will be visiting Russia from Nov. 22 to 24, under an official invitation from Putin. A series of intergovernmental and departmental agreements on commercial treaties are anticipated.

The Chinese regime’s silence on the arrested fisherman is a contrast to the sharp rebuke given Japan last month, for arresting a Chinese fishing boat captain after a collision on Oct. 7. That took place in disputed waters of the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. A video shows that the Chinese ship had intentionally rammed into a Japanese coast guard vessel. Japanese authorities released the Chinese captain after several days of pressure from the Chinese regime. Even after the captain’s release, large-scale anti-Japanese student protest took place across China that a number of analysts say were initiated by universities on orders from state authorities.

Russia, however, has in the last two years repeatedly dealt with Chinese border and trade violations in an assertive and punitive manner, without drawing strong criticism from the CCP.

In June 2009, the sudden closure of a Chinese market in Moscow led to several billion U.S. dollars in losses to over 30,000 Chinese businessmen. This occurred just after Chinese leader Hu Jintao had visited Moscow for a meeting with Putin and President Medvedev on June 17.

On Feb. 13, Chinese media reported that a Russian warship attacked and sunk the Chinese cargo ship Nova Road, with two sailors killed and seven missing. The Chinese Foreign Ministry waited until Feb. 19 to express its concern and dissatisfaction to the Russian ambassador.

Li Tianxiao, senior commentator with New Tang Dynasty Television, said in an interview with The Epoch Times that the Chinese communist regime has consistently taken an attitude of being pro-Russia and of appeasing Russia. Former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin even signed an agreement with Russian president Boris Yeltsin, transferring more than one million square kilometers (over 386,000 square miles) of China’s northern territory to Russia. Hu Jintao later confirmed the act.

Li said Beijing even tried to conceal the facts of the Chinese cargo ship bombing by Russia, and attempted to exonerate the Russian patrol, describing the incident as a “dangerous encounter.” The reason for downplaying it was because an oil treaty with Russia was in progress on Feb. 17, Li said.

Voice of America reported on Oct. 31 that China remains the main buyer of Russian weapons. Additionally, China is also interested in joint development of weapons with Russia.