Beijing on Thursday sent diplomats to meet with Chinese citizens detained in Palau for alleged illegal fishing, urging local authorities to handle the incident in a fair and proper way.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei confirmed the incident at a regular news conference on Thursday. Hong said Palau authorities told Beijing that 25 Chinese fishermen are in custody in the Pacific island country. One of the crewmembers was "accidentally" shot dead by local police while they were chasing the Chinese vessel.

"As China has no diplomatic relations with Palau, the Chinese embassy in Micronesia, which is in charge of Palau-related affairs, has immediately launched an emergency system and urged Palau to notify China of details of the case and handle the incident in a fair and proper way," Hong said.