1893–January 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii feared invasion by the United States to restore the legitimate government. During the confusion created by the revolution, a Japanese who had been convicted of murder escaped from prison in Honolulu, and sought refuge on Naniwa. Captain (later Fleet Admiral) Tōgō Heihachirō's refusal to hand the convict over to authorities from the Provisional Government nearly caused a diplomatic incident between Japan and the United States. Naniwa arrived back in Japan on 15 April and became the flagship of Rear Admiral Tsuboi Kōzō, commander of the First Flying Squadron, on 19 July. First Sino-Japanese War During the Donghak Peasant Revolution, advancing rebel forces caused the Korean government request assistance from Qing China in May 1894 who began shipping troops to Asan the following month. The Japanese government, unwilling to let Korea fall under Chinese control, began to ship troops of their own to Chemulpo (modern Incheon) that same month and occupied Chemelpo and Seoul, the Korean capital. The subsequent arrival of more Chinese troops at the mouth of the Taedong River on 16 July angered the Japanese who issued an ultimatum threatening war if any further troops arrived in Korea. The Viceroy of Zhili, Li Hongzhang, believed that the Japanese were bluffing and ordered 2,500 more troops to be transported to Asan. In response, the Japanese ordered the Combined Fleet to Kunsan, Korea, in preparation for war on the 23rd and forced King Gojong of Korea to renounce Korea's tributary relationship with China that day. Two ships carrying some of the soldiers arrived on the night of 23/24 July with the third and last contingent scheduled to arrive on the morning of 25 July. After the Japanese ships arrived at Kunsan, Tsuboi's First Flying Squadron with Naniwa, and the protected cruisers and , was detached from the Combined Fleet to rendezvous at Pungdo Island at the entrance to the Bay of Asan with the three Japanese warships from Chemulpo before blockading the west coast of Korea to prevent any reinforcements for Asan. The telegraph line to Chemulpo had been severed by the rebels and the Japanese ships there remained in port. Battle of Pungdo On the morning of 25 July, the protected cruiser and the torpedo gunboat of the Imperial Chinese Beiyang Fleet sortied from Asan, possibly to rendezvous with the chartered British steamer, , carrying the last of the Chinese troops. Jiyuan