South Korea will work closely with China to avert a diplomatic row over the sinking of a Chinese boat whose crew are accused of illegal fishing, officials said Wednesday.
One Chinese crewmen died and another is still missing after the boat's crew clashed with South Korean coastguards in the Yellow Sea on Saturday.
"Both countries share the view that they will have close consultations to settle the case with no feathers ruffled," a foreign ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"Currently, investigations are under way to determine objective facts (concerning the sinking)."
Another government official was quoted as telling Yonhap news agency that Seoul was willing to carry out a joint investigation with China into the incident.
"We have no intention of letting this case turn into a diplomatic issue. We want to resolve it through close consultations with the Chinese government," the unidentified official said.
China on Tuesday demanded that South Korea pay compensation for the sinking of the 63-tonne fishing boat and punish the crew of the coastguard ship involved in the incident.
South Korea must "bring the perpetrators to justice, make compensation for the loss of our property and take concrete efforts to prevent such instances from reoccurring", said foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.
The boat capsized after colliding with the 3,000-tonne coastguard ship, leaving one of its crew members dead and another missing.
Eight other fishermen were rescued. Five were picked up by nearby Chinese boats while three were detained by South Korean authorities.
A South Korean coastguard spokesman said the Chinese crew brandished iron pipes, clubs and shovels when two small boats from the South Korean coastguard ship approached their trawler, injuring four officers.
South Korean TV showed a video of the clash filmed by the coastguard, which appears to show the fishermen fending off the officers with metal bars.
The trawler then suddenly rammed into the coastguard ship and capsized, causing 10 Chinese sailors to fall into the sea, the South Korean spokesman said.
Illegal fishing by Chinese vessels is common in South Korean waters. The coastguard said 332 Chinese boats were caught last year. On Monday it announced plans for a new crackdown on fish poaching.
In 2008 a South Korean officer drowned while trying to inspect a Chinese boat, and 10 officers have been injured this year.
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