China urged to stop preventing fishermen’s operations at sea

Binh quoted relevant Vietnamese agencies as saying several Chinese boats controlled, prevented and took away equipment of two Vietnamese fishing vessels (QNg 96416 TS and QNg96674 TS) that were fishing near Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago on August 1 and 14.

More seriously on August 15 two Chinese rubber canoes approached another Vietnamese vessel (QNg96697 TS) fishing near the Paracel Islands, smashing the vessel, confiscating some equipment and beating the fishermen.

Binh stressed that these actions infringe Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the East Sea, and run counter to international law, the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), a high-level agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea disputes, as well as the common perceptions of the two countries’ top leaders concerning humanitarian treatment for fishermen.

Vietnam demands China seriously investigate and deal with the behavior of the relevant Chinese forces, not let similar actions happen in the future, and appropriately compensate Vietnamese fishermen, he said.

Binh also said a Foreign Ministry representative on September 9 handed over a protest note to a representative of the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi.

VOV