Japanese / Korean navy action of 22 December 2001

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Action of 22 December 2001
Date 22 December 2001
Location off Amami-Ōshima, in the East China Sea
Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
Flag of North Korea North Korea Flag of Japan Japan
Strength
1 armed trawler several Japan Coast Guard vessels
Casualties and losses
1 armed trawler sunk
approx. 15 killed		 3 wounded

The Japanese / Korean naval action of 22 December 2001 was a confrontation between the Japan Coast Guard and an armed North Korean vessel, taking place near the island of Amami-Ōshima, in the East China Sea. The encounter ended in the sinking of the North Korean vessel, which the Japanese authorities later announced was determined to have been a spy craft.

Contents

[edit] Background

The as-yet unidentified ship was first seen in Japanese waters on Friday 21 December 2001[1]. A North Korean vessel encountered by the Japanese Coast Guard in 1999 was claimed by Japan to have been an spy craft, though North Korea denied it; other incidents have occurred involving illegal fishing and drug trafficking.

[edit] Battle

Early the following morning, the ship was chased by twenty Japan Coast Guard vessels, who ordered it to halt, and fired warning shots upon the ship when those orders were ignored. A six-hour firefight ensued, in which over 1000 machine gun rounds were fired by both sides; the Korean crew were said to have wielded shoulder-held rocket launchers, representing the first time such a weapon was ever used against a Japanese force. Several explosions not directly related to Japanese attacks rocked the ship before it was sunk, most of its fifteen crew members being missing and presumed dead as of several days later. This could be seen as the first sinking of a foreign ship by Japanese forces since the end of World War II, although some sources argue that the ship was scuttled by its crew.

[edit] Sources

[edit] References

  1. ^ Technically speaking, the entire encounter took place outside of Japanese territorial waters, as defined under the smallest, strictest definition, but within the exclusive economic zone, an area extending 200 miles from Japanese land, within which Japan can claim exclusive rights to fishing and mineral resources.
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