The Battle of Amami-Ōshima or 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 Japan Coast Guard and an armed North Korean 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 craf...
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The Battle of Amami-Ōshima or 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 Japan Coast Guard and an armed North Korean 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.
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 Headquarters. A North Korean vessel encountered by the Japanese Coast Guard in 1999 was claimed by Japan to have been a 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...
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