SurroundingChinese military ships unveiled canvas sheets covering their weapons,intimidating Vietnamese fishing vessels, said Nguyen Van Trung, deputyhead of the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department under theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development at a press conferencein Hanoi on the afternoon of May 17.
The ships kept onapproaching and provoking the Vietnamese forces undertaking lawenforcement in Vietnam ’s waters around the oil rig, said Trung.
By the morning of May 17, China maintained 119 ships of variouskinds, including coast guard ships, warships, refuelling ships andfishing vessels, he said.
China has deployed two morewarships, including a fast attack missile craft coded 755 and a fastpatrol attack craft coded 789 to the site, he clarified.
AsVietnam Fisheries Surveillance ships approached the Haiyang Shiyou-981oil rig to demand China recall the rig, many Chinese shipsencircled, rammed and fire water cannons into Vietnamese ships, he said.
Especially, Chinese ship intentionally rammed a VietnamFisheries Surveillance Force ship when it was on duty about 7 nauticalmiles from the oil rig, said Trung.
At the same time, Chinesefishing vessels continued surrounding Vietnamese fishing vessels,however, the Vietnamese fishermen persistently stayed firm to preservetheir fishing ground, Trung said.
In particular, on the nightof May 16, fishing boat QNg-90205-TS of Quang Ngai province wasconstrained by the Chinese ship coded 306 when it was operating normallyin Vietnam ’s waters near Phu Lam island to the north of Hoang Saarchipelago. Vietnamese fishermen were beaten with two badly injured andtheir tools were destroyed. The Quang Ngai boat is currently capturedby the Chinese side.
The Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Forcehas, however, exercised their utmost restraint. Together with the CoastGuard Force, they continue providing support for Vietnamese fishingboats to ensure their safety and operations at the traditional fishingground around the illegally positioned rig, said Trung.-VNA