TWO Chinese fishing ships have been detained off Russia’s Far East region, the Chinese Consulate confirmed Tuesday.

One ship carried 17 fishermen while the other had 19 on board, the consulate told Xinhua, adding both ships were from the city of Weihai in eastern China’s Shandong Province.

The consulate said it was notified by the coastal service of Russia’s Far East Primorsky region, which said the two ships were seized because they entered Russia’s exclusive economic zone.

One ship was detained at the port of Nakhodka, while the other ship was heading there, the consulate said, adding that it was trying to find out if all the fishermen were accounted for.

According to the RIA Novosti news agency, a Russian coast guard vessel, the Dzerzhinsky, fired warning shots and then opened targeted fire to stop a Chinese fishing ship that had been fishing for squid.

None of the Chinese fishermen were killed or wounded during the incident, RIA said.

(Xinhua)