41.   At least one big rebel boat was sunk.

42.   Bilateral relations slumped further when the Japanese coast guard sank a suspected North Korean spy boat in a surprise firefight in the East China Sea later in the month.

43.   Military officials said another patrol boat was sunk for the same use three years ago.

44.   The clash was in the same zone as a firefight three years ago in which a North Korean patrol boat was sunk.

45.   The defence ministry said five rebel boats were sunk.

46.   The mutineers then planned to sink the boat along with seven survivors -- six Indonesians and a South Korean -- and sneak into Japan on two makeshift rafts.