Chinese Boat Accused Of Violent Attack In South China Sea
Chinese government personnel attacked a Vietnamese fishing boat in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Sunday, seriously injuring several fishermen, Vietnamese state media reported.
The incident occurred in the Paracel Islands, about 250 miles east of Vietnam and 220 miles southeast of China’s Hainan Island. Both neighbors claim sovereignty over the Paracels, although China has maintained effective control over them since it seized them in 1974 after a battle with the South Vietnamese navy.
China’s “broken line” claim includes most of the land features in the South China Sea, which has put it at odds with several neighbors. In recent years, China’s most violent clashes in the exclusive economic zone of the U.S. ally have been with the Philippines.
The Vietnamese and Chinese foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the fishing boat crew’s claims on Tuesday.
Bong Ba Phong, head of the local justice department in Binh Son district in the northern coastal province of Quang Ngai, said he had learned that local fishermen’s fishing boats were blocked while operating near the Paracel Islands, according to state media Tien Phong on Monday.
Chinese government ship Sansha Zhifa 301
The Chinese government ship “Sansha Zhifa 101” set sail from Sansha City, Hainan Province. Along with the “Sansha Zhifa 301”, the ship was identified as one of the ships suspected of launching. More pictures from the Internet
Later that day, local security officials confirmed that a 40-year-old man named Nguyen Thanh Bien was the captain of the 70-foot fishing boat QNg 95739 TS. He added that seven of the ten crew members on board were injured in the accident, three of whom had broken arms or legs.
The Chinese government ships suspected of launching the attack have hull numbers 101 and 301. The two ships, each more than 300 feet long, are affiliated with the Sansha City Comprehensive Law Enforcement Office in Sansha, China’s southernmost city in Hainan Province.
At around 10 a.m., the ships sent three hard-shell rubber boats to chase the Vietnamese ship, then surrounded and boarded it.
Nguyen told VTC News that about 40 people rushed toward his boat and began beating the crew with iron rods about 3 feet long. He said one of the attackers beat him unconscious.
“After beating us, they forced us to stand at the bow and bowed with our hands on our heads,” said Huynh Tien Cong, a crew member. “They beat us so hard that my arms and legs were broken.”
The Chinese boat also destroyed much of the ship’s equipment and seized about 6 tons of the crew’s captives, he added.
