New York (CNN) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, in New York Tuesday for the United Nations General Assembly, urged Japan to release a detained Chinese boat captain "immediately and unconditionally," China's state news agency Xinhua reported.
Otherwise, China will take further measures, Wen said in a meeting with Chinese nationals and Chinese-Americans, according to Xinhua.
The captain was arrested earlier this month off the disputed Diaoyu Islands, in the East China Sea, after his vessel crashed into two Japanese patrol boats. He is accused of obstructing Japanese public officers while they performed duties.
A Japanese court has extended the detention of the captain as diplomatic tensions between the two countries rise.
"The Japanese side bears full responsibility for the current situation, and it shall bear all the consequences that arise," Wen said, according to Xinhua.
The Ishigaki Summary Court in Okinawa decided that the captain will be held at least until September 29, the Japanese Coast Guard told CNN on Monday.
CNN
