Argentina Fires at Chinese Vessel 'Illegally Fishing' Country's Waters (VIDEO)

The lawbreaking Chinese vessel managed to escape after Argentina's coast guard opened fire at it and started almost an eight-hour chase.

Shots were fired at the Jing Yuan 626, after the vessel sailing under a Chinese flag was caught illegally fishing in Argentina's exclusive economic zone, the statement of the Argentine Naval Prefecture reads.

READ MORE: Beijing Expresses Concern Over Sunken Chinese Boat in Argentina

The footage of the incident shows an Argentine officer warning the Chinese vessel before it is fired upon.

"You're responsible for the safety of your crew and your ship. You are about to receive direct fire on the bow part of your ship," the officer announced via radio.

Persecución del potero chino Jing Yuan 626 por el GC Mantilla.
En varias oportunidades el Guardacostas se vio en peligro xque otros barcos chinos realizaron maniobras de embestidas para proteger al infractor.
Y gracias a los K tenemos a los chinos instalados en nuestra patagonia pic.twitter.com/thyxiLEQjJ

— Anti Zaffaroniano (@juancablasi) February 23, 2018

Afterwards, the coast guard ​had to carry out cannon fire so as to impede the Chinese vessel's ability to navigate and then began an almost eight-our chase to capture the vessel. There has been no reports of injured or detained fishermen.

Meanwhile, four other vessels, under Chinese flags as well, tried to protect the lawbreaking fishing boat, by ramming into coast guard vessels.

This is not the first incident in Argentina's waters, as in March 2016, Argentina’s Coast Guard sank an illegally operating Chinese fishing trawler after several warning shots were fired across the Chinese vessel’s bow and repeated attempts were made to reach the crew by radio.