Disputes over illegal fishing have dogged relations between South Korea and China for years, and there have been numerous clashes between the coastguard and Chinese crew members."I thought our officers would be in danger if I allowed any more resistance so we ended up using the crew service weapon," he was quoted as saying.

There were no casualties reported from the incident on Wednesday, which was the first of its kind since the coastguard announced last month that it would pursue a "more aggressive" firearms policy with Chinese trawlers."They tried to ram our ships although we repeatedly warned them," Kim told the Yonhap news agency.Initial machine gun bursts were fired into the air, but the crew were later ordered to fire on the bows of the Chinese boats that were sailing directly at the coastguard vessels.Small wooden Chinese ships were once tolerated in an area where the top priority has always been guarding against potential incursions from North Korea. Two Chinese trawlers were seized in the clash.

South Korean coastguard vessels have, for the first time, fired machine guns against Chinese boats illegally fishing in Korean waters, an official said on Wednesday..S Korea officials said some 30 Chinese fishing boats illegally operating near the South's Yellow Sea border with North Korea.Seoul has been asking Beijing to take a tougher stand on its vessels that have entered the South's waters in increasing numbers to satisfy growing demand at home for fresh seafood.But in recent years, the small boats have given way to larger steel trawlers which engage in bottom trawling dragging a large weighted net across the seabed that sweeps up everything in its path.Senior coastguard official Kim Jung-Shik said the order to fire came during a stand-off with some 30 Chinese fishing boats illegally operating near the South's Yellow Sea border with North VDE cables Suppliers Korea