Battle of Amami-Ōshima

The Battle of Amami-Ōshima, also known as the Spy Ship Incident in the Southwest Sea of Kyūshū (九州南西海域工作船事件, kyūshū-nansei-kaiiki-kōsakusen-jiken), was a six-hour confrontation between the Japanese Coast Guard and an armed North Korean vessel on 22 December 2001, taking place near the Japanese island of Amami Ōshima, in the East China Sea.

Battle of Amami-Ōshima
(Spy Ship Incident in the Southwest Sea of Kyūshū)

A ZPU-2 anti-aircraft gun that was mounted on the North Korean spy vessel.
Date22 December 2001
Location
Off the coast of Amami-Ōshima, in the East China Sea
Result

Japanese victory

  • North Korean naval trawler sunk[1]
Belligerents
 North Korea  Japan
Strength
1 naval trawler[1] 2–3 patrol boats[2][1]
70 men[2]
Casualties and losses
15 killed[3]
1 naval trawler sunk[4]		 3 wounded[3]
1 patrol boat damaged[3]

The encounter ended in the sinking of the North Korean vessel, which the Japanese authorities later announced was determined to have been a spy craft.[5][6] The encounter took place outside Japanese territorial waters, but within the exclusive economic zone, an area extending 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) from Japanese land, within which Japan can claim exclusive rights to fishing and mineral resources.

Background

An unidentified ship was spotted in Japanese waters on 21 December 2001. The armed trawler was detected by a communications station in Kikaijima, Kagoshima, which was under control of the Japanese Defense Intelligence Headquarters.[7]

In 1999, another North Korean vessel encountered by the Japanese Coast Guard was claimed by Japan to have been a spy craft, though North Korea denied it.[8]

Battle
Dual hatch found in the stern of the North Korean spy trawler.

Early the following morning, the ship was chased by four Japanese Coast Guard vessels, who ordered it to halt, and fired 25 warning shots upon the ship when those orders were ignored.[9] A six-hour firefight ensued, in which over 1,000 machine gun rounds were fired by both sides;[1] the North Korean crew were said to have wielded shoulder-held rocket launchers.[10]

The North Korean trawler was meanwhile hit by a number of 20 mm (0.79 in) rounds.[3][11] Several explosions not directly related to Japanese attacks rocked the ship before it was sunk. According to The Guardian, "fifteen survivors were seen clinging to a buoy in heavy seas, but the Japanese ships were ordered to ignore them because of fears that they would use force to resist capture".[3] Two bodies were recovered, thirteen more persons were declared missing and presumed dead several days later.[3]

The Special Boarding Unit was mobilized to board the ship, but did not do so as they had to wait for official orders from the Japanese Defense Agency. The ship sank before such orders arrived.[12]

Aftermath
The raised ship exhibited at the Japanese Coast Guard Museum Yokohama.

In 2003 the trawler was raised by the Japanese to confirm its origin and intentions. Inspection of the hull determined it was of North Korean origin and most likely an infiltration and spy vessel. It was revealed that the vessel was camouflaged as a Chinese or Japanese fishing boat and that it could reach a speed of 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph), far faster than any commercial trawler. The ship also contained a hidden double-hatch located in the stern to be used as an exit door for speedboats.

Once the inspections were completed, the hull was displayed at the Japanese Coast Guard Museum Yokohama in Yokohama, where the trawler became a popular tourist attraction.[13]

See also
  • Fushin-sen - Battle of Amami-Ōshima is one of the most notable Fushin-sen type of incidents

References

Citations
  1. "Japan Says a Mystery Boat Fired Rockets at Its Ships". The New York Times. 25 December 2001. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  2. "特殊部隊DATABASE JAPAN Special Forces". Archived from the original on 1 December 2005. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  3. "Japan defiant over boat sinking". The Guardian. 24 December 2001. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  4. "North Korean Provocative Actions, 1950-2007" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. 20 April 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  5. "Japan announces sunken boat was N. Korean spy ship". BNET. 7 October 2002. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  6. "Japan says 'spy ship' fired rockets". BBC News. 25 December 2001. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
  7. "Japan's Secret SIGINT Organizations: Focusing on North Korea". Archived from the original on 15 September 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  8. "Japan Gives Up Chase of Suspected N. Korean Spy Ships". Los Angeles Times. 25 March 1999. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  9. "Japan fires on 'intruding' boat". BBC News. 22 December 2001. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  10. "North Korea's espionage operations in Japan". Japanese National Police Agency (in Japanese). 1 December 2005. Archived from the original on 23 March 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  11. "Suspected NK Spy Ship Sunk in East China Sea". The Chosun Ilbo. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  12. Nash, Ed (17 December 2019). "The Special Boarding Unit (特別警備隊); Japan's Maritime Teeth". Ed Nash's Military Matters.
  13. Macdonald 2007, p. 104.

Bibliography
  • Macdonald, Scot (2007). Propaganda and information warfare in the twenty-first century: altered images and deception operations. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-77145-0.
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