"We are proud as Cook Islanders to provide our entire exclusive economic zone... as a shark sanctuary, " said Teina Bishop, Cook Islands minister of marine resources.
Coast Guard official Yasuhiko Oku said the captain had admitted being inside Japan's exclusive economic zone when he was stopped on Saturday, the Associated Press reports.
Mr Sarkozy, in particular, sees an opportunity to turn the euro zone into an exclusive (and perhaps more protectionist) hard core, dominated by France and Germany.