Three more Vietnamese fisheries surveillance officers were injured during the continued attacks by some of the nearly 80 Chinese ships that are encroaching on Vietnam’s waters in the East Vietnam Sea to escort a giant Chinese oil rig that has illegally operated there since May 1, a fisheries surveillance unit reported Friday.

>> Vietnam not to make concession to China’s wrongful acts>> Vietnam will hit back if Chinese vessels continue ramming Vietnamese ships: official    >> 6 Vietnamese fisheries surveillance staff injured in confrontation with Chinese ships Vuong Manh Hoa, the political assistant at the Fisheries Surveillance Sub-Team 3 stationed in Son Tra District, central Da Nang City, told Tuoi Tre on May 9 that Chinese ships have continued to ram Vietnamese vessels during the past few days, causing damage to some vessels and injuring three fisheries surveillance officers. The encroaching ships attacked Vietnamese vessels when they were requested by the Vietnamese side to leave the waters, Hoa said.  Several days ago, six other fisheries surveillance officers were wounded when hit by pieces of broken glass during the similar attacks by Chinese ships, the official said. “However, the fisheries surveillance force will continue to protect the country’s waters to the last, making no concession to China’s violation,” he added.  China has deployed nearly 80 vessels including warships to guard the oil rig HD 981, but this force many increase or reduce on a day-to-day basis, depending on the actual situation in the area, Nguyen Van Trung, deputy head of the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department, said at a conference press on Friday. Trung also said all the six injured officers have recovered.

Earlier on May 3, the Chinese Maritime Safety Administration released a navigational warning on its website, saying that China’s drilling rig HD 981 was operating in a location of 15°29’58’’ North latitude and 111°12’06’’ East longitude in the East Vietnam Sea and will continue to do so until August 15. The announced location of the drilling rig is completely within the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Vietnam, about 119 nautical miles (221 km) from Ly Son Island off the central Vietnamese province of Quang Ngai and 18 nautical miles south of Tri Ton Island of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, according to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Le Hai Binh. On May 6, during a phone call with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi regarding the illegal operation of the oil rig, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said, “Vietnam cannot accept and resolutely opposes China’s act, and demands that China move the drilling rig and escort vessels out of the area before holding talks to resolve differences around the issue.” Yesterday, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat sent his regards and encouragement to the fisheries surveillance force in Da Nang. The ministry gave each of the nine injured officers VND2 million (US$94) and granted VND140 million (US6,600) to the sub-team 3 to repair the vessels that have been damaged by Chinese ships. The same day, Tuoi Tre newspaper’s representatives presented gifts valued at VND5 million ($237) each to the three injured officers.  The newspaper also offered the sub-team 3 VND10 million ($474). In a related development, a fisherman on Ly Son Island, central Quang Ngai province, on Friday reported that his fishing boat, QNg-96416 TS, was attacked by a Chinese warship numbered 1241 and a Chinese sea surveillance ship when it was fishing 15 nautical miles off  Lin Con island, part of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) on May 7. Soldiers on the warship threw hammers and bolts to the fishing boat, breaking its glass windows, Nguyen Loc, the boat's owner said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese sea surveillance ship crashed into the Vietnamese boat, Loc said, adding that he and the 16-member crew had tried their best to drive their boat away from the area.

The attack has caused a total damage of about VND300 million ($14,200), Loc said.