HK clash with China

HONG KONG (Reuter) - The government of Hong Kong yesterday protested to China over an armed confrontation between marine officers on a fishing boat in Hong Kong waters.

The Hong Kong government summoned a representative of the New China News Agency, China's de facto embassy in the colony, to express 'grave concern over an incursion which took place in Hong Kong waters and the dangerous behaviour of the Chinese officers involved'. The Hong Kong government said police received a report that a fishing vessel inside Hong Kong waters had been boarded by Chinese officers.

When Hong Kong police boarded the fishing boat they were surprised by armed Chinese police officers who threatened them and confiscated film when they tried to photograph the incident.

The confrontation, near Waglan Island in south-east Hong Kong, lasted nearly two hours. It ended when the Chinese officers returned to their boat and left for Chinese waters. No shots were fired and there were no injuries.

The waters around the colony have become increasingly dangerous for shipping; there have been 13 armed incursions and at least 14 raids on ships bound for Vietnam. Nearly all the incidents involved Chinese gunboats.