South Korea summons China ambassador over fishing boat clash
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South Korea summoned China's ambassador Tuesday to protest against what it says was a deliberate collision by a Chinese fishing vessel with a South Korean coast guard patrol boat that later capsized and sank.
Disputes over illegal fishing are an irritant in relations between China and US ally South Korea, even as their economic relations grow close. They also share concern about North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programmes.
South Korea's Ministry of Public Safety and Security, which oversees the coast guard, said one of its patrol boats sank last week during an operation to crack down on a group of Chinese vessels fishing illegally off the Korean peninsula's west coast. It said the patrol boat was rammed by one of the Chinese vessels.
