The South Korean foreign ministry has summoned the Chinese Ambassador to Seoul over an incident last week. The Chinese Foreign Ministry says it hopes South Korea can handle the issue in a reasonable way.

"We are checking further information with relevant departments. China and South Korea are keeping in touch on this issue through diplomatic channels. I want to reiterate that we hope that South Korea handles the issue in a reasonable and cool-headed way, with the overall interests of bilateral relations in mind," said Geng Shuang, spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry.

A Chinese fishing vessel had reportedly rammed and sank a South Korean coastguard boat off the country's west coast on Friday. The South Korean public safety and security ministry said the incident happened during an operation to crack down on a group of Chinese vessels fishing illegally off the Korean peninsula. No injuries were reported. China's coast guard is also looking into the incident to identify the fishing boat involved.