Argentina's coast guard said Tuesday that it sank a Chinese fishing vessel that had been fishing illegally within Argentina's exclusive economic zone the day before. According to a statement from the coast guard, the Argentine Naval Prefecture chased the ship and demanded an on-board inspection, but the ship responded by deliberately ramming the coast guard and tried to escape to international waters. Warning shots were fired in vain, so the coast guard opened fire and sank the ship. All crew members of the Chinese ship were rescued.

This incident has caused a sensation. Even if Argentina's statement is true, which means the Chinese fishing boat had broken Argentina's laws first, sinking the boat has gone too far. Illegal fishing is commonplace around the world, and sinking boats, which causes a direct threat to fishermen's lives, is not something that a sensible coast guard would do.

More information about the incident is needed, especially the details, such as where exactly the incident happened, and whether the Chinese ship did try to ram the coast guard vessel.

Fishing boats are usually at a disadvantageous position when confronted with maritime law enforcement. Sinking unarmed fishing boats is deemed barbaric according to international norms. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea has never suggested using such deadly force to punish cross-border fishing. The usual countermeasures are to warn, expel, detain, impose a fine and at worst, sentence the fishermen in court.

We believe some Chinese fishermen have engaged in illegal fishing in the offshore regions of other countries. We understand that it won't be easy for Argentina to deal with illegal fishing. But these difficulties cannot account for the necessity of opening fire on an unarmed fishing boat at the cost of these fishermen's lives.

Some Chinese fishing boats are larger than the small patrol ships of some countries' coast guards. This might cause some inconvenience for their law enforcement, but it shouldn't be a reason that allows them to sink these ships as a warning to others.

China and Argentina have an amiable relationship, and this incident is believed to have happened by mischance. We hope the Argentine authorities can look into this incident carefully, find out the real reasons, punish the people who are responsible, and make sure such brutal law enforcement won't happen again.

China should also put more effort into educating deep-sea fishermen, making them realize the importance of complying with the law in their areas of operation. Once their awareness is raised, there will be fewer incidents like this that might make a dent in China's relationship with other countries.