An Argentinian Coast Guard vessel found itself surrounded by a group of Chinese fishing boats as they tried to prevent one of their number from being apprehended after being observed fishing illegally in Argentinian waters.
According to a statement by the Argentinian Navy, fishing vessel Jing Yuan 626 failed to respond when requested to comply, and four other vessels under the same flag carried out manoeuvres that could have caused collision, designed to prevent an arrest taking place.
During the operation, the Coast Guard vessel directed both machine gun and cannon rounds at the Jing Yuan 626’s superstructure above the waterline, while a naval PA-22 aircraft also took part in the operation.
After an almost eight-hour pursuit in fog and under poor weather conditions, the decision was taken, following an instruction from the Argentinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to end the operation.
