China has given warning to Japan that ties between the two countries could be adversely affected by the seizure of a Chinese trawler which collided with two Japanese coast guard boats.
Zhan Qixiong, the captain of the boat, was transferred to prosecutors for questioning on Thursday, a day after Japan's coast guard arrested him near a group of East China Sea islets controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.
Japanese authorities suspects the captain deliberately rammed the coast guard vessels and he was arrested on suspicion of obstructing officers on duty, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of three years' imprisonment.
No one was injured in the incident and the two Japanese vessels sustained only minor damage.
"The Japanese side applying domestic law to the Chinese fishing boat operating in this area is absurd, illegal and invalid, and China will never accept it," Jiang Yu, a foreign ministry spokeswoman, said.
"If improperly handled, [the incident] could have a serious impact on the larger interests of China-Japan relations."
Jiang called for the unconditional release of the crew and the boat and said a "law-enforcement" ship had been sent to the area to "protect the safety" of Chinese fishermen in the area.
Crew questioned
A Japanese coast guard spokeswoman said investigators had started inspecting the trawler and would soon start questioning the 14 fishermen on the boat, which is docked off Ishigaki island in Okinawa prefecture.
The collisions occurred after a Japanese patrol ship ordered the fishing trawler to cease operations near the rocky islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
In the ensuing confrontation the Chinese boat's bow hit the ship's stern before it sailed off. About 40 minutes later it collided with another Japanese patrol boat.
China has twice summoned Japan's ambassador to demand the release of the skipper.
The captain could be released in a couple of days if he acknowledges the allegation of obstructing public duties resulting in the collision and pays a fine, Masahiro Ichijo, the Japan coast guard spokesman said. If not, he would likely have to stand trial, he said.
China's official media warned Thursday of setbacks to relations if Japan does not release Zhan.
"A wave of indignation is also brewing in Chinese society, which might snowball in a major public outcry if the Japanese authorities continue to take a hardline stance on the incident,'' the English-language China Daily said in an editorial.
"Each time it chooses to provoke China over the Diaoyu Islands issue, it puts bilateral relations at risk."
Territorial dispute
The incident comes as the number of Chinese vessels fishing near the disputed islands has risen since last month, Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper says.
The daily said about 160 Chinese vessels were fishing near the islands on Tuesday and 30 of them were inside what Japan says are its territorial waters.
The Chinese government has reiterated its claim to the Diaoyu, as well as its adjacent islets and their waters, urging Japan not to patrol there.
But Satoru Sato, the Japanese foreign press secretary, said on Wednesday that Japan's territorial ownership of the Senkaku is "the undeniable fact".
Territorial disputes has long caused tensions in Japan-China relations.
As the Chinese economy's demand for resources grows, China's commercial ships are venturing farther from shore and its more powerful navy is enforcing claims in disputed waters.
PHOTO CAPTION
A Taiwanese fishing vessel sails alongside a Japanese coastguard boat (L) near the disputed Diaoyu Islands or Senkaku in Japanese in the East China Sea, 2006
Al-Jazeera