A fishery association in the central province of Quang Ngai has strongly condemned two attacks by China’s ships on Vietnamese fishing boats earlier this month, during which the attackers injured two fishermen and took away a lot of property. The attacks are absolutely unacceptable because the Vietnamese fishing boats were operating in Vietnamese waters, said Bui Hong Van, deputy chairman of the Binh Chau Commune Fishery Association. “We demand that China immediately stop such assaults, which are inhumane and against international law, on Vietnamese fishermen doing their work in waters under Vietnam’s sovereignty,” Van said. On June 13, fishing ship QNg 90657, with 11 crew members on board, returned to the Sa Ky port in Quang Ngai after being attacked by Chinese ships three days earlier. The attack occurred at about 4:00 pm on June 10, when four Chinese ships suddenly appeared and surrounded the Vietnamese boat that was fishing off Bom Bay Island, part of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago in the East Vietnam Sea, Nguyen Van Phu, 29, the owner and captain of the local vessel reported.

The foreign ships, in white paint and numbered 589, 3103, 64501 and 35101, then sent two speedboats carrying six people to approach the Vietnamese ship, Phu said. They forcefully boarded the local ship, coercing the Vietnamese fishermen to move the entire volume of aquatic products – about six metric tons – from their ship to the Chinese vessels for three hours, the captain said.

The Chinese also took away a lot of other property including two fish detectors, a positioning system, an Icom walkie-talkie, five tanks of oil, diving clothes, and other instruments.  

Vietnamese border guards examine damage caused by Chinese ships to Quang Ngai Province's fishing ship QNg 90657 on June 10, 2015. Photo: Tuoi Tre

They also cut off seven air hose reels, an anchor line, and other tools, before leaving at 7:00 pm the same day.

The total damage caused by the attack amounted to about VND750 million (US$34,400), according to an estimate by the Sa Ky Border Guard Station.

The other attack happened on June 7, when a Chinese ship chased and then fired its water cannon at another fishing boat of Quang Ngai, QNg 90369, when the Vietnamese ship was operating about four nautical miles off Bom Bay Island.

The powerful beams from the water cannon led Bui Tan Doan, 23, and Cao Xuan Ly, 42, two of the 13 fishermen on board the local ship, to fall and get injured, according to the boat owner and captain, Nguyen Trung Kien, 42.

After the attacking ship left, another Vietnamese ship took the two victims ashore, while their vessel continued to fish in the waters.

Ly suffered injuries to the head while Doan broke the ankle of his left leg, doctors said, adding that it will take three months for Doan to recover.

The provincial Headquarters of Border Guards said they are coordinating with local authorities to verify the attack reports and have kept the High Command of the Border Guard, the local Party Committee, and the Quang Ngai People’s Committee informed of such attacks.

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