China on July 8 mobilised an electronic
reconnaissance plane to oversee the operation of Vietnamese law enforcement
ships in the area that China is illegally placing its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou –
981, reported the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department.
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China's electronic
reconnaissance plane at the site
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From 7:15-8:05am, the TU-154M reconnaissance
aircraft coded 1224 was seen flying at the attitude of 200-300m above the sea.
Meanwhile, China still kept 106 ships of various
kinds around its oil rig. They include 46 coast guard, 14 cargo, 27 fishing
ships, 14 tugboats, and five military vessels.
When Vietnamese fisheries surveillance ships
tried to approach the rig at a distance of 10-11 nautical miles to demand China
immediately withdraw its rig and ships out of Vietnam’s waters, Chinese ships
simultaneously sped up and kept close to Vietnamese ships, hindering them from
approaching the rig.
While Vietnamese fishing ships are still
operating at their traditional fishing grounds 42-45 nautical miles from the
rig, they were obstructed by Chinese fishing ships backed by their coast guard
and fishery logistics service ships.
In early 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 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.
On May 26, Chinese ship 11209 even sank a
Vietnamese fishing vessel that was operating normally in its traditional
fishing grounds near Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago.
Suorce: VNA
