They stayed about 8-10
nautical miles from where China’s oil rig is illegally standing, according to
the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department.
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| Chinese ships protect the oi rig HD-981 |
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s
fishing boats kept their normal catching activities about 35-40 nautical miles
from the rig, demanding their fishing grounds.
In addition to protesting
China’s violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty, the fisheries surveillance ships
always stood side by side with fishing boats to support and protect them from
Chinese vessels.
On the day, China
maintained nearly 120 ships, including 40 coast guard vessels, over 30 cargo
ships and tugboats, 35-40 fishing boats and four warships. A Y-8 aircraft was
spotted to fly above the rig at a height of 300-500m.
China’s fishing boats,
backed by two coast guard ships, continued to hinder Vietnamese fisheries
surveillance and fishing ships from accessing the rig.
They acted more
spontaneous, pushing Vietnam’s fishing boats away from the rig about 35-40
nautical miles.
The Chinese vessels
organised in group, about 7-8 or 9-11 nautical miles from the rig, to
aggressively prevent and stand ready to ram against and fire water cannons at
the Vietnamese ships.
The Vietnamese fisheries
surveillance and fishing ships remained safe despite the Chinese aggression.
At the beginning of May
2014, China illegally dispatched the 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. The location is 80 miles deep inside Vietnam ’s
continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.
On May 27, China expanded
the rig’s operation by moving it to 15 degrees 33 minutes 22 seconds north
latitude and 111 degrees 34 minutes 36 seconds east longitude, 25 nautical
miles from Tri Ton Island in Vietnam ’s Hoang Sa archipelago and 23 nautical miles
east-northeast from the old location.
On June 3, the oil rig
moved yet again to another new position, at 15 degrees 33 minutes 36 seconds
north latitude and 111 degrees 34 minutes 11 seconds east longitude. The new
position is still completely within Vietnam ’s continental shelf.
Source: VNA
