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  OssanULTRA at 12:36 PM JST - 15th June

  "The "fisherman" in question has a long history of antagonizing the Japanese Coast Guard. He claims to be from Taiwan but is in fact from mainland China."

  If the above is true then this article does not provide sufficient information and any comments either rooting for Taiwan or accusing Japan are simply pointless.

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  okapake at 02:38 PM JST - 15th June

  rjd_jr - The "report" was a Japanese report. Of course they're gonna start passing the blame from the start.

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  Conrad at 03:13 PM JST - 15th June

  To rjd_jr and OssanULTRA,

  Yep. You are both right (IMHO).

  I usually don't comment, but this situation strikes a note with me because of my research and I felt a need to add my 2 cents.

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  Rekishika at 04:24 PM JST - 15th June

  An interesting situation here.

  First of all, the nationality of the fishing boat. I'd like to believe that, but what motive would Taiwan have to escalate the matter over a Chinese fishing boat, and China for that matter to keep quiet? It would make more sense were this the other way around.

  Second, it is very difficult to put the wrong on the side entering the waters (even if undisputed) if it happens to be a civilian ship that is otherwise unarmed anyway. True, they get challenged, possibly boarded and sent back if they are there without permission, but it makes sense for the authorities to avoid collisions, because basically they have a mandate to protect first of all, even suspects. This mandate puts authorities automatically at fault when risking lives unless the other side did something so severe that the authorities were either forced to take potentially lethal action or could physically not avoid an accident, in which case the other side also is not partially at fault, but fully. It's a strange statement.

  Third, it does fit in with the reputation that to the Japanese authorities there can often be found rather distinctly different treatments of Japanese nationals and those of other countries. In Japan's peer group of free countries, it's more or less of an exception (though since a decade or so joined by the United States). When there is such an exception, there's normally a good reason for it, incidents, problems where there really are things not going right. And that doesn't necessarily have to be related, it just has to be things that make other people indignant somehow, even upset with the Japanese authorities. And if something like that exists in the emotions, it tends to give a much stronger charge to incidents like this. Because for the emotions, the context is very real. And it's not enough to say that the feelings are wrong, or selfish, or that the authorities are doing the right things. Getting a better reputation and still doing the things that are necessary takes a lot of due care to actually show to the individual people that their concerns and the impact on their lives are in fact cared for. Because it truly is that one time where your official somehow treats one individual wrongly that sticks to the emotions and undermines all the trust in good intentions in an instant (an old saying goes that trust comes on foot and leaves on horseback). Multiply such things and the outcome is a bad reputation.

  I hope this helps.

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  TonyUS at 04:36 PM JST - 15th June

  Here is something I read form the Taipei Times.

  The investigation said the Japan Coast Guard had recommended that authorities charge both Ho and the captain of the Japanese patrol boat with “incurring danger due to negligence of official duties” and additionally charge the Japanese captain with “incurring harm due to negligence of official duties

  http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2008/06/15/2003414823

  Seems the recommendation was to charge all with negligence.

  I am just wondering if this has any connection with the closeness Ma is trying to form with Beijing such as I am also wondering about the US stopping all arms sales to Taiwan recently..

  Could this be a move by US, and seems to be one of its closest Asian ally "Japan" taking a position of distrust of Ma and the direction Taiwan is taking all of a sudden with its relations with China???? Maybe an uneasiness of both with what Ma has so abruptly engaged in with the China issue?

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  1keiron at 05:30 PM JST - 15th June

  Conrad, thanks for your great perspective on this. But I would like you to know that for many here, it does not matter the facts or extenuating circumstances in this case. For many here, they will automatically side with any nation in a dispute with Japan. It does not matter the facts or the evidence, or even waiting for all the facts to be released. You can give these people the entire facts about this ship collision until the sun does not shine, and it won't matter, they will automatically jump to conclusions to hurriedly establish the guilt of Japanese. Yet, if this ship collision were to involve their nation of origin with a Chinese fishing vessel, then these very same people would then turn around and hurl accusations at the Chinese, how they are the instigators, etc. Double standards all the time, just keep that in mind when you bring forth relevant matter

  That made me laugh because its so true about the majority of people on here.

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  presto345 at 05:50 PM JST - 15th June

  I just did a gigantic research paper on the dispute

  Thank you Conrad for your efforts to put things in perspective.

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  Shumatsu_Samurai at 06:55 PM JST - 15th June

  "You were partly at fault. You were in front of us when we rammed you."

  Or maybe more a case of the fishing boat playing chicken with a larger ship to provoke a situation as has been suggested.

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  USNinJapan2 at 10:31 PM JST - 15th June

  I bet Taiwan's wishing right about now that they had an official diplomatic relationship with Japan like other proper nations...

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  OssanULTRA at 10:48 PM JST - 15th June

  This is so strange, there's hardly much more than a paragraph or two on this incident and issue on the international news sites. And the Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs page while it mentions it on the Chinese language page, completely ignores it on he English page. http://www.mofa.gov.tw/webapp/mp.asp?mp=6

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  smithinjapan at 01:25 AM JST - 16th June

  It's funny to watch people on this site defend Japan and at the same time justify the defense of Japan as, "...there are not enough facts!". So when the facts come in and prove Japan wrong, what are you going to say then? that 'the men didn't need to be watching from the deck' like with the Aegis destroyer that rammed the fishing boat in Japan and killed the crew?

  Okay, so there are people on here that jump the gun and blame Japan, for sure (me included), but it's based on past incidents, whereas the defense of Japan is based on nothing but an undying love for a country known for covering up such incidents.

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  JeromeInJapan at 02:45 PM JST - 16th June

  I think maybe the guy was doing somthing stupid, illegal, or both and the J coast guards took the heavy hand approach as per usual. I mean look at when Japanese fishing boats are catching whales and the way the treat the hippie Green Peace actavists.

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  mikihouse at 04:28 PM JST - 16th June

  A classic move? Divide and conquer. The US both supports Taiwan and Japan, and Taiwan and Japan are both allies. Now, divide the forces, supplant Taiwan and Japan relationship, naturally US will have to choose Japan, China will be the big brother to take over taiwan...China will get back its renegade "province" and establish its territory. Unless Taiwan wizes up...

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  Chinese_American_Guy at 04:04 PM JST - 19th June

  I know this sounds weird, but China needs to provide more support to Taiwan in this situation. They should have sent ships for escort for protesters, or provided other logistical support, at the very least protested louder. Divide and conquer is the recent history of China, let it not be the future.

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  TonyUS at 12:35 PM JST - 20th June

  China is a trouble maker anyway, they should stay out of it and go on with their suppression of the people in their own country.

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