A Vietnam Fishing Surveillance Department ship was deliberately rammed and seriously damaged by two Chinese ships illegally operating in Vietnamese waters on June 23.

The action continued China’s flagrant violation of international law in placing an oil rig in Vietnamese seas and preventing the nation’s vessels from engaging in their normal activities.

At 9.30am, two Chinese tugboats 284 and 285 and a maritime patrol ship No11 blocked Vietnamese fishing surveillance ship KN-951 and steadied it on one side. The action allowed tugboat coded Xinhai 285 to ram the other side, seriously damaging the ship.

Meanwhile, the Chinese fleet, including about 44 coast guard ships, 15 cargo ships, 19 tugboats, 35 fishing vessels and five battleships continued defending the drilling rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 that has been illegally positioned in Vietnam’s waters since the beginning of May.

The Chinese ships kept up their aggression even after the latest ramming incident, coming threateningly close to Vietnamese vessels.

The department said that despite the Chinese aggression, Vietnamese law enforcement agencies persisted in operating about 10 nautical miles from the rig, communicating peacefully the nation’s demand that China immediately moves the rig out of Vietnamese waters.

Vietnamese fishing vessels continued to operate in their traditional fishing grounds, about 35-40 nautical miles from the rig, despite regular harassment by about 38 Chinese fishing vessels supported by coast guard ships coded 46102 and 46106.

On May, 2014, China illegally dispatched its oil rig along with a large fleet of armed vessels including military ships and aircraft and positioned it 80 miles deep inside Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.

It later moved the rig to a site 60 nautical miles deep inside Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone, ignoring Vietnam’s protest and denouncements from across the globe.

VNS/VNN