Shots were fired at the Jing Yuan 626, after the vessel sailing under a Chinese flag was caught illegally fishing in Argentina's exclusive economic zone, the statement of the Argentine Naval Prefecture reads.
READ MORE: Beijing Expresses Concern Over Sunken Chinese Boat in Argentina
The footage of the incident shows an Argentine officer warning the Chinese vessel before it is fired upon.
"You're responsible for the safety of your crew and your ship. You are about to receive direct fire on the bow part of your ship," the officer announced via radio.
Persecución del potero chino Jing Yuan 626 por el GC Mantilla.
— Anti Zaffaroniano (@juancablasi) February 23, 2018
En varias oportunidades el Guardacostas se vio en peligro xque otros barcos chinos realizaron maniobras de embestidas para proteger al infractor.
Y gracias a los K tenemos a los chinos instalados en nuestra patagonia pic.twitter.com/thyxiLEQjJ
Meanwhile, four other vessels, under Chinese flags as well, tried to protect the lawbreaking fishing boat, by ramming into coast guard vessels.
This is not the first incident in Argentina's waters, as in March 2016, Argentina’s Coast Guard sank an illegally operating Chinese fishing trawler after several warning shots were fired across the Chinese vessel’s bow and repeated attempts were made to reach the crew by radio.
