Action of 22 December 2001
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Amami-Ōshima or the was a six-hour confrontation between the Japan Coast Guard
and an armed North Korea
n vessel, taking place near the island of Amami-Ōshima
, in the East China Sea
. The encounter ended in the sinking of the North Korean Navy vessel, which the Japanese authorities later announced was determined to have been a spy craft.
. A North Korean vessel encountered by the Japanese Coast Guard in 1999 was claimed by Japan to have been an spy
craft, though North Korea denied it; other incidents have occurred involving illegal fishing and drug trafficking. With the North Korean vessel's intentions unclear, the Japanese Coast Guard decided to intercept it.
, representing the first time such a weapon was ever used against a Japanese force. The North Korean trawler was meanwhile hit by a number of 20mm rounds. Several explosions not directly related to Japanese attacks rocked the ship before it was sunk, most of its fifteen crew members being missing and presumed dead as of several days later.
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.
The engagement was recorded on video from Japanese Coast Guard vessels
Japan Coast Guard
The , formerly the Maritime Safety Agency, is the Japanese coast guard. Comprising about 12,000 personnel, it is under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and is responsible for the protection the coast-lines of Japan...
and an armed North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n vessel, taking place near the island of Amami-Ōshima
Amami Oshima
is a semi-tropical island in the Amami Islands, which is part of the larger Nansei Islands in Japan. Ōshima literally means big island, and it is the largest of the Amami Islands. It lies roughly halfway between the islands of Okinawa and Kyūshū. Briefly part of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, in 1624 it was...
, in the East China Sea
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
. The encounter ended in the sinking of the North Korean Navy vessel, which the Japanese authorities later announced was determined to have been a spy craft.
Background
The as-yet unidentified ship was first seen in Japanese waters on Friday 21 December 2001. The armed trawler was detected by a communications station in Kikaijima, Kagoshima, which was under control of the Defense Intelligence HeadquartersDefense Intelligence Headquarters
The is the official signals intelligence agency of the Japanese government, under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Defense. It is currently one of the biggest Japanese intelligence agencies with its creation and structure modeled after the American Defense Intelligence...
. A North Korean vessel encountered by the Japanese Coast Guard in 1999 was claimed by Japan to have been an spy
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
craft, though North Korea denied it; other incidents have occurred involving illegal fishing and drug trafficking. With the North Korean vessel's intentions unclear, the Japanese Coast Guard decided to intercept it.
Battle
Early the following morning, the ship was chased by twenty Japan Coast Guard vessels, who ordered it to halt, and fired 25 warning shots upon the ship when those orders were ignored. A six-hour firefight ensued, in which over 1,000 machine gun rounds were fired by both sides; the Korean crew were said to have wielded shoulder-held rocket launchersRocket propelled grenade
A rocket-propelled grenade is a shoulder-fired, anti-tank weapon system which fires rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. These warheads are affixed to a rocket motor and stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are reloadable while others are single-use. RPGs, with the exception of...
, representing the first time such a weapon was ever used against a Japanese force. The North Korean trawler was meanwhile hit by a number of 20mm rounds. Several explosions not directly related to Japanese attacks rocked the ship before it was sunk, most of its fifteen crew members being missing and presumed dead as of several days later.
The Special Boarding Unit
Special Boarding Unit
The is a special forces unit established by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces on March 27, 2001 in response to a previous spy ship incursion that occurred on the Noto Peninsula in 1999. The unit was created to perform similar roles to those undertaken by American Navy SEALs and the British...
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.
The engagement was recorded on video from Japanese Coast Guard vessels