According to CNN field
correspondent McKirdy, Chinese vessels have removed covers from their weapons
to intimidate Vietnam.
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| Chinese ship using water cannons to attack a Vietnamese vessel |
At an international press
conference held by the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs on developments in
the East Sea on June 5, Vice Chairman of the National Border Committee Tran Duy
Hai, said China intensified escort ships in Vietnam’s waters, sometimes up to
140 vessels, including military ships operating in the area where Chinese oil
rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 was illegal placed.
Chinese ships have
demonstrated aggressive behaviour and they have actively attacked, deliberately
rammed and sprayed high power water cannons at Vietnamese civilian law
enforcement ships, injuring fisheries surveillance officers and damaging
Vietnamese law enforcement agency equipment.
The same day, China
blatantly slandered Vietnam ships for ramming them more than 1,200 times in the
area around its oil rig.
Hua Chunying, spokesperson
of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also grossly slandered: "The
drilling activities of this rig are within China's territorial waters. The
harassment by the Vietnamese side is in violation of China's sovereign rights,"
On June 6, CNN published a
diary written by reporter Euan McKirdy describing the situation in Vietnam’s
exclusive economic zone. McKirdy is one of 40 domestic and international
journalists who have been drafted in to make their presence in the field.
McKirdy wrote “The
Vietnamese refrain over territorial waters is constant and unerring. Crew
members explained to me that China is breaking the 1982 UN Convention of
the Law of the Sea, and that the vessels are engaged in illegal activities in
waters that are part of Vietnam's continental shelf.”
“The oil rig --
identified as HD-981 -- is omnipresent. It's there in everyone's minds, it's
the focus of much of the conversation on the boat, and it's physically visible
for most of our time at sea -- though we keep our distance.
Despite our considerable
distance from land, the horizon bristles with the silhouettes of dozens of
ships, a mixture of Vietnamese and Chinese Coast Guard vessels and fishing
fleets from both sides. The Vietnamese fishing boats are draped in red banners,
which urge the Chinese to leave their territory” He said.
A Vietnam Television (VTV)
crew embedded with CNN aboard CG 8003 says the previous vessel they were
aboard, a government fisheries surveillance ship, was itself rammed by the Chinese
Coast Guard.
“While Chinese ships keep
their distance, they are intent on making their presence known. When the ships
are close enough, we can see the deck-mounted guns have had their tarpaulins
removed - a less than subtle signal perhaps. In any event, the sight of naked
weaponry only dozens of meters away is unsettling.
The Chinese presence is
also felt in the air. Towards the end of our time aboard the ship, we see a
surveillance plane -- which journalists aboard the coast guard vessel are
assured is Chinese - leisurely bank around our vessel time and time again,
sometimes flying low and close enough for those on board to make out its
markings with the naked eye.” he added.
Source: CNN/VOV
