Tug-of-war

The Lost Nomad used this title and I liked it and wasn't creative enough to make my own.

I don't feel comfortable commenting on the gravity of this incident. The Chosun calls it 'farcical' and the Nomad call it 'a bit silly' and points out that "It's all fun and games till someone sinks!", but my family connection to the Coast Guard prevents me from even suggesting that I want to.

Oh, the incident was a standoff at sea between the Korean Coast Guard and the Japanese Coast Guard. Between them, literally, was a small Korean eel-trawler that may have been fishing in the Japanese EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone). The Japanese Coast Guard caught up to the ship outside of their waters but not really in Korean waters yet. They boarded the ship and soon after the Korean Coast Guard boarded the same ship from the other side. Yes, it was a 'ship-sandwich' with competing coast guards as the bread!

However, what impressed me, was the way the Japanese fought the Korean crew. The Times has a good description of what happened (or their version of what happened). In a similar incident with Chinese ships and the Korean Coast Guard, the Koreans had to break off the chase and let the Chinese get away. It may be time to study Japanese martial arts!