News from China: Vietnam condemns Beijing for assault

HANOI, Vietnam –

Vietnam condemned China on Thursday, saying Chinese police personnel attacked 10 Vietnamese fishermen, damaged their fishing gear and confiscated about four tons of fish catch near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

The fishermen initially reported the attack near the Chinese-controlled islands by radio on Sunday, but did not identify the attackers.

According to Vietnamese state media, three of the fishermen suffered broken limbs and the rest suffered other injuries. Some were taken to a hospital on stretchers after returning to Quang Ngai province late Monday.

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday blamed Chinese law enforcement personnel for the attack on the high seas, saying it “seriously violates Vietnam’s sovereignty in the Paracel Islands, international law and an agreement by the leaders of rival claimant countries to better manage them.” injured”. Territorial disputes.

Chinese officials did not immediately respond.

Vietnam conveyed its protest and concern over the attack to the Chinese ambassador in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.

Vietnam called on Beijing to respect its sovereignty in the Paracel Islands, launch an investigation and provide information about the attack to Hanoi, Vietnamese spokesman Pham Thu Hang said in a statement posted on the Foreign Ministry website.

China has become increasingly aggressive in enforcing its claims in nearly the entire South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in global trade transits annually. It is also believed that the busy sea passage lies on huge underwater reserves of oil and gas.

In addition to China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims to the strategic waterway.

The United States has no claims in the disputed waters, but has deployed Navy ships and Air Force fighter jets to patrol the waterway and promote freedom of navigation and overflight. China has warned the US against interfering in what it says is a purely Asian dispute.

Vietnamese newspaper Tien Phong quoted one of the fishermen, Tran Tien Cong, as saying that two foreign boats approached them from behind and that personnel from those vessels boarded their boat and began attacking the fishermen with a meter-long (three-foot-long) hit to hit. long stick, apparently made of iron.

The Vietnamese fishermen panicked and did not fight back as they were overwhelmed by an estimated 40 attackers. Another fisherman, Nguyen Thuong, was quoted as saying that the attackers, speaking through a translator, ordered them to sail back to Vietnam. The attackers then confiscated their fishing equipment and catch.

After being beaten, the Vietnamese fishermen were forced to kneel and covered with plastic sheets before the attackers left.

The Paracel Islands lie about 400 kilometers (250 miles) off the east coast of Vietnam and about the same distance from China’s southernmost province of Hainan. Both countries, along with the self-governing island of Taiwan, claim ownership of the islands.

The islands have been under China’s de facto control since 1974, when Beijing captured them from Vietnam in a brief but intense maritime conflict.

Last year, satellite photos showed that China appeared to be building an airstrip on the Paracel Group’s Triton Island. At the time, it appeared the runway would be large enough for turboprop planes and drones, but not fighter jets or bombers.

China has also had a small port and buildings on the island for years, as well as a helipad and radar systems.

China has refused to provide details of its island-building work, other than to say it is aimed at promoting global shipping security.

It has rejected accusations, including from the USA, that it would militarize the sea passage.