The Chinese government said on Wednesday that South Korea's coast guard should not have been operating where one of Seoul's patrol boats sank last week. This was during an operation to crack down on a group of Chinese fishing boats. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the use of force will not resolve anything and could only worsen the problem.

"China believes South Korea's blind increase of punishment and claim to even use force during law enforcement will not fundamentally resolve anything and will only worsen the problem and cause a dispute. China again demands that South Korea strengthen their controls on law enforcement personnel,"Geng said.