The captain of a local fishing boat on Friday reported to local authorities that two Chinese ships had attacked his vessel in Vietnamese waters, causing total damage of US$16,370, the Vietnam Fisheries Trade Union said the same day, demanding that China stop such illegal acts immediately.

>> Chinese ships reportedly ram, fire water cannons at Vietnamese fishing boats The attack happened at 11:00 am on Wednesday when the fishing boat QNg 96372 from the central province of Quang Ngai was operating in waters off Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, Le Tan, the ship’s captain, told the Ly Son Border Guard Station in the province’s Ly Son island district. At that time, Chinese fisheries surveillance ship #306 and another Chinese ship suddenly appeared and approached the local ship, which was carrying 15 fishermen. Immediately the Vietnamese boat sped toward the Quang Ngai coast and the two foreign vessels chased them for about two hours. The pursuing ships then released a high-speed boat with a group of armed forces on board to pursue the local boat. The speedboat soon caught up with the fishing ship and the armed forces boarded it. The armed people intimidated the Vietnamese captain and forced all the fishermen to gather at the prow of their ship. The Chinese forces then destroyed the local ship’s telecommunication systems and air hose reels, smashed fishing equipment and pierced an oil tank. The attackers then stole some fishing equipment and the fishing products on board the ship. The assault caused damage totaling VND350 million ($16,370) to his fishing boat, Captain Tan said. Tran Ngoc Nguyen, chairman of the Ly Son District People’s Committee, said the local border guard force had reported the case to him. Nguyen added that another local fishing boat also suffered from a similar attack on the same day. After receiving Tan’s report about the incident, the Vietnam Fisheries Trade Union on Friday issued a protest against the attack and demanded that China immediately stop such illegal acts that affect the safety, life, and property of Vietnamese fishermen. 

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