Fishing boat QNg 96416 (Photo: Quang Ngai Radio and TV Station)

Relevant agencies said Vietnam’s fishing boat QNg 96416 TS was moving about 7 nautical miles to the south of Lincoln Island in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago when a steel vessel plated 4006 and a motorboat of China came very near, causing big waves that made 16 fishermen and many objects on the Vietnamese boat to fall into the water, and water to enter the boat.

It was reported that some people on the Chinese vessels got on to the Vietnamese boat to pump water out and brought the Vietnamese fishermen back to the boat. They then forced the captain of the Vietnamese boat to fingerprint some documents in foreign languages and took away a large volume of seafood, fishing tools and equipment on the QNg 96416 TS.

Immediately on June 10, the Consular Department under the Foreign Ministry and the Vietnam Embassy in Beijing contacted the Chinese side and affirmed Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago. The agencies also requested the Chinese side to investigate the incident and inform the investigation’s results to authorised Vietnamese agencies for coordinating to address the incident.

On June 12, the QNg 96416TS and all fishermen on board safely landed in Sa Ky, the central province of Quang Ngai. The fishermen are now under quarantine in Quang Ngai’s Binh Son medical centre in accordance with COVID-19 prevention regulations.  

Authorised agencies of Vietnam are working to collect and verify information on the incident and will continue to contact the Chinese side to protect the national sovereignty and Vietnamese fishermen’s legitimate rights and interests.VNA