A Chinese missile frigate traveled around China’s illegal oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnam’s waters on Tuesday while hundreds of fishing boats were deployed to the scene, the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) reported the same day.

>> Vietnam plans $756mn for developing marine law enforcement forces >> Chinese vessel rams, breaks Vietnamese ship in Vietnam’s waters>> Chinese tugboat rams Vietnamese fisheries surveillance ship >> Chinese ship rams, sinks Vietnamese fishing boat in Vietnam’s waters Along with the missile frigate 534, China also dispatched hundreds of fishing vessels to the waters where the rig was relocated for the second time since it was illegally planted in the Vietnamese waters on May 1. While the frigate operated in an area about ten nautical miles from the rig, these Chinese fishing boats were arranged in arcs to prevent Vietnamese vessels from getting close to the platform. China yesterday also deployed at least three spying planes to the waters. These planes flew above Vietnamese vessels to take photographs or videotape their operations. At 1:00 pm the same day, Vietnam Coast Guard vessel CSB 4032 and several Vietnamese fisheries surveillance ships entered an area 7-8 nautical miles from the rig and used loudspeakers to demand that the platform and its guarding ships leave the Vietnamese waters. Immediately, about ten Chinese coast guard ships and tugboats sped up toward the local vessels and surrounded them, with an aim to ram or fire water cannons at the Vietnamese boats. Facing intimidation from the Chinese side, the Vietnamese vessels managed to avoid being attacked. Similar scenes were seen during hours later and in the late afternoon, two Chinese coast guard ships 1123 and 112102 rushed to Vietnam Coast Guard vessel CSB 2015, according to VCG. The Vietnamese vessel tried to run away to avoid a collision while the Chinese ships ran after it, with the support of a plane that flew right above the local boat. The chase lasted for an hour, VCG said. The Chinese rig, after two times of relocation – on May 27 and June 2 –  is now located at 15°33’22’’ North latitude and 111°34’23’’ East longitude, still in the Vietnamese waters.

Over the past month, the Chinese vessels that are guarding the rig have rammed or fired their water cannons at Vietnamese vessels when they were requested by the Vietnamese side to leave the Vietnamese waters.

Such attacks have so far injured 12 Vietnamese fisheries surveillance officers and several fishermen, and damaged a dozen boats, the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance Department said.

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