Chinese ships are aggressive and arrogant, Vietnam persistently restrains

That was the comment of Mr. Ngo Ngoc Thu - Deputy Commander of Vietnam Coast Guard at the international press conference on May 7.

According to Mr. Thu, when Vietnamese law enforcement ships came to inspect and prevent illegal encroachment of the HD981 drilling rig, Chinese guard ships, supported by aircraft, acted aggressively, actively rammed straight into the ships, used high-powered water cannons to spray water at Vietnamese ships to damage the ships and equipment on board, causing injuries to sailors on board. Specifically, at 08:10 this May 3, at coordinates 15031' N– 111002'E (about 10 nautical miles from the HD981 drilling rig), the Coast Guard ship 44044 proactively rammed straight into the right side of the CSB4033 ship, resulting in a 3-meter-long, 1-meter-wide tear on the right side of the 4033 ship, damaging the right engine and other equipment.

Chinese ship's water cannon attacks Vietnamese ship

At 08:30 on May 4: Coast Guard ship 44103 proactively rammed straight into the left side of ship CSB2012; because ship 2012 accelerated to avoid, the crash was only on the right stern corner of the ship, about 1 square meter in area, damaging some other equipment on the ship.

In addition to the Coast Guard ships, Chinese ships also actively rammed and sprayed water cannons at dozens of Vietnamese Fisheries Surveillance ships and other law enforcement vessels. The consequences damaged equipment on the ships and injured a number of Vietnamese sailors.

At 12 noon on May 7, Coast Guard ship 3411 continued to ram ship CSB8003. China simultaneously used aircraft number 8321 to fly over the airspace of ship CSB8003, aiming to intimidate Vietnamese ships.

For Chinese ships equipped with weapons, they all opened their gun and cannon covers to be ready to use at any time, causing an extremely tense situation on the ground.

Arriving at the scene in time, carrying out inspections and preventing illegal encroachments by Chinese drilling rigs and guard ships in Vietnam's waters. Sending signals to request Chinese drilling rigs and ships to leave Vietnam's waters. During the process of law enforcement at sea, Vietnamese law enforcement forces were persistent and restrained in the face of aggressive and arrogant actions by Chinese ships. In the future, Vietnamese law enforcement forces will continue to resolutely fight to protect Vietnam's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the Hoang Sa archipelago and Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh affirmed that Vietnam has full legal and historical grounds to assert its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa and its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in accordance with the provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Vietnam will apply all appropriate and necessary measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests. At the same time, Vietnam always shows goodwill and persistently resolves disagreements satisfactorily through negotiations, dialogues and other peaceful measures in accordance with the common perception of the two countries' senior leaders, the Agreement on Basic Principles guiding the settlement of maritime issues, in accordance with the provisions and practices of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, not allowing this issue to harm political trust and cooperation between the two sides./.

According to VOV