China calls forrelease ofboat captain

Japanese ambassador in Beijing Uichrio Niwa was summoned to a third meeting over the incident with foreign minister Yang Jiechi.

China has said the confrontation could damage bilateral relations, showing the sensitivity of the territorial dispute, one of several that trouble China’s relations with its Asian neighbours.

As the Chinese economy’s demand for resources grows, Beijing’s commercial ships are venturing farther from shore and its more powerful navy is enforcing claims in disputed waters.

The collisions happened on Tuesday after the Chinese fishing boat ignored warnings from the patrol vessels to leave the area and then refused to stop for an inspection, Japan’s coast guard said.

The incident happened off Japan’s Kuba island, just north of disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.