When the Chinese first learned that two Russian coast guard ships had sunk a Chinese-owned freighter on Feb. 15 in the Pacific Ocean, the incident must have aroused conflicting feelings regarding their sometimes overbearing neighbor. The freighter, the New Star, was registered with Sierra Leone and was using that country's flag of convenience. The Hong Kong-based J-Rui Lucky Shipping Company owned the vessel. Ten of the 16 crew members were Chinese citizens, while six were from Indonesia, including the captain. Of the eight who died when the ship sank 80 kilometers (50 miles) off the port of Nakhodka, seven were Chinese nationals. A company representative said the New Star had arrived at the Russian port of Nakhodka at the end of January with a cargo of rice. The intended buyer complained that the rice had gone bad, rejected the consignment, and demanded compensation for the canceled transaction. After repeatedly being denied permission to leave port, the Chinese ship decided to depart anyway. The ship's owners demanded compensation from Russian authorities for violating international law and the crew's "human rights" in sinking the vessel.
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