Japan on Wednesday arrested the captain of a Chinese fishing boat that collided with two Japanese coast guard boats near disputed islets in the East China Sea, a move that could further raise tensions between the two countries.
The arrest came a day after Beijing summoned the Japanese ambassador to China to protest against what it called illegal interception of the Chinese vessel.
Both Tokyo and Beijing lodged protests over the incident but Japan's top government spokesman called for calm.
"Japan should not get too excited and should react calmly," chief cabinet secretary Yoshito Sengoku told a news conference.
The incident took place near a group of East China Sea islets -- called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China -- over which Tokyo and Beijing as well as Taiwan claim sovereignty.
No one, including 30 Chinese crew on the fishing boat, was injured, a spokesperson at Japan's coast guard said.
The captain of the Chinese boat has been transported to the southern Japanese island of Ishigaki for questioning, he added.
On Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu reiterated that the Diaoyu islands belong to China.
"We demand Japanese patrol boats refrain from so-called law enforcement activities in waters off the Diaoyu islands and refrain from actions that would threaten the security of Chinese fishing boats and their crew," Jiang was quoted by Xinhua news agency as telling a news conference.
"We will closely follow the situation and reserve our right to take further actions."
Tokyo has urged China to strengthen supervision of its fishing boats to avoid a recurrence of the incident.
