China continues to use high-speed ships to block Vietnamese Fisheries Surveillance ships

This afternoon (June 13), in Hanoi, a representative of the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that Chinese ships used high speed to approach Vietnamese Fisheries Surveillance ships, ready to ram, collide and block our ships while approaching to carry out their missions in the area where the Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig was illegally placed.

Chinese Coast Guard ships fiercely harassed and obstructed Vietnamese Coast Guard ships. (Photo: Cong Dinh-Huu Trung/VNA)

Chinese Coast Guard ships and tugboats closely followed the Fisheries Surveillance ships at a distance of 50-100m while approaching the rig and actively prevented the Fisheries Surveillance ships from a distance, about 8-10 nautical miles from the rig.

According to observations by the Vietnamese Fisheries Surveillance force, Chinese fishing boats lined up horizontally 35 nautical miles from the rig to surround and block the direction of Vietnamese fishing boats moving close to the rig to exploit aquatic resources.

Regarding forces, China still maintains about 116 ships including: 42 Coast Guard ships, 14 transport ships, 18 tugboats, 36 fishing boats and 6 military ships.

Notably, a representative of the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department said that during the day, the weather in the Hoang Sa archipelago in general and the area where China placed the drilling rig in particular had many fluctuations, with southwest winds gusting to level 6, thunderstorms and fog, and limited visibility.

According to the representative of the Fisheries Surveillance Department, bad weather not only affects the observation and monitoring of the forces but also affects the health of the fisheries surveillance forces and fishermen, so our ships must move close together to support and continue propaganda activities.

Faced with that situation, the Vietnamese Fisheries Surveillance force persisted, proactively overcame difficulties, and stayed at the scene of the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig while organizing activities to protest and demand that China withdraw the drilling rig and all ships from Vietnam's exclusive economic zone within a range of 10-13 nautical miles.

Vietnamese fishing boats continue to stay at fishing grounds, organize fishing activities, fight for traditional fishing grounds and protest against the arbitrary actions of Chinese fishing boats and coast guard ships, demanding that China withdraw all ships and the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig from Vietnam's exclusive economic zone./.

According to Vietnam +