Fishermen in the central province of Quang Ngai have reported to local authorities two more cases in which Chinese forces smashed fishery equipment and took away fishing products from their boats when they were operating in Vietnamese waters.
>> Chinese armed forces destroy equipment, steal property from Vietnamese fishing boat: report
Pham Thi Huong, deputy chairwoman of the province’s Ly Son Island District People’s Committee, said local authorities are verifying the information related to the two cases so that they can issue a protest against them to relevant provincial agencies and the Vietnam Fisheries Trade Union.
One of the two cases involved a Quang Ngai fishing boat numbered QNg96093 on January 7 - the same day another local fishing boat suffered a big loss after being attacked by two Chinese ships - said Nguyen Chi Thanh, 32, the owner and captain of vessel QNg96093.
The attack on Thanh’s boat occurred at 10 am that day when his vessel, with 15 fishermen on board, was operating near Xa Cu Island, part of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago in the East Sea, he said.
Two canoes with about 10 Chinese people on board suddenly appeared from Xa Cu Island and approached the local boat, Thanh said.
The Chinese forces then boarded the local vessel, smashed fishery equipment, and stole all the property on board, including one ton of fish, he said.
The assault caused a total loss of about VND150 million (US$7,030) for the local boat, Thanh reported.
As previously reported, fishing boat QNg 96372 (also from Quang Ngai) suffered a similar attack at 11 am the same day when it was operating in Vietnamese waters off the Hoang Sa archipelago.
At that time, Chinese fisheries surveillance ship #306 and another Chinese ship suddenly appeared and approached the local ship, which was carrying 15 fishermen, said Le Tan, the local ship’s captain.
Afraid of being attacked, the Vietnamese boat sped toward the Quang Ngai coast and the two foreign vessels chased after it and then used a high-speed boat with a group of armed forces on board to pursue the local boat.
After catching up with the fishing ship, the armed forces boarded it, intimidated the Vietnamese captain and forced all the fishermen to gather at the prow of their ship.
The Chinese forces then destroyed the local ship’s telecommunication systems and air hose reels, smashed fishing equipment and pierced an oil tank.
The attackers then stole some fishing equipment and the fishing products on board the ship.
The assault caused damage totaling VND350 million ($16,370), Captain Tan said.
After receiving Tan’s report about the incident, the Vietnam Fisheries Trade Union last Friday issued a protest against the attack and demanded that China immediately stop such illegal acts that affect the safety, life, and property of Vietnamese fishermen.
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