The Chinese side on June 23
continued harassing Vietnamese law enforcement authorities operating in
Vietnam’s waters, according to the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department.
At 9:30, two Chinese tugboats 284 and 285 and a
maritime patrol ship No. 11 blocked Vietnamese fisheries surveillance ship
KN-951 and steadied it on one side. The action allowed tugboat coded Xinhai 285
to strongly ram into the other side of ship KN-951, causing serious damage to
the ship, reported the department.
Meanwhile, the Chinese fleet, including about 44
coast guard ships, up to 15 cargo ships, 19 tugboats, 35 fishing vessels and
five battleships, continued defending the drilling rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 that
China has illegally positioned in Vietnam’s waters since the beginning of May.
The Chinese ships kept on chasing Vietnamese
ships with a distance as close as 20m and driving them away, while standing
ready to ram Vietnamese ships at all time, said the department.
Despite the Chinese aggression, Vietnamese law
enforcement authorities were persistently operating about 10 nautical miles
from the rig, using communication means to peacefully demand China immediately
remove the rig out of Vietnam’s waters, according to the department.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese fishing vessels continued
conducting their normal catching activities in their traditional fishing
grounds, about 35-40 nautical miles from the rig, despite the regular
disturbance of about 38 Chinese fishing vessels that were supported by coast
guard ships coded 46102 and 46106.
At the beginning of May 2014, China illegally
dispatched its oil rig as well as a large fleet of armed vessels, military
ships and aircraft to Vietnam’s waters and positioned the rig at 15 degrees 29
minutes 58 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 12 minutes 06 seconds east
longitude, 80 miles deep into Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive
economic zone.
Despite Vietnam ’s protest, China expanded its
scale of operation and moved the rig to 15 degrees 33 minutes 36 seconds north
latitude and 111 degrees 34 minutes 11 seconds east longitude, 60 nautical
miles deep inside Vietnam ’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.
China ’s armed vessels have aggressively and
consistently fired high-power water cannons at and intentionally rammed against
Vietnamese public-service and civil ships, causing damage to many boats and
injuring many people on board.
Chinese ships have also continuously encircled,
constrained and driven away Vietnamese fishing boats operating normally in its
traditional fishing ground near Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago.
Source: VTV/VNA