VietNamNet Bridge - After being attacked by Chinese marine surveillance ships, Vietnamese ships counterattacked. The confrontation took place over more than an hour, reported Tuoi Tre Daily.

A Chinese attacks a Vietnamese vessel by water guns. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On Monday morning, upon detecting Vietnamese boats approaching its HD-981 oil rig, China sent 15 marine surveillance ships and semi-armed fishing vessels to lay siege to the Vietnamese fleet.

According to Tuoi Tre, the Chinese ships bore directly down on the fishery control ships and used water guns to attack Ship No. 9226. Subsequently, five maritime surveillance ships moved to both sides of boat 9226 and attacked it with water cannons.

In the situation, the ship's captain, Mr. Cao Duy, decided to use water guns and water cannons to counterattack the Chinese aggressors.

The confrontation took place over an hour and the Chinese ships withdrew at about 9:45am.

Earlier, Chinese ships aggressively prevented Vietnamese vessels from doing their duty in Vietnam’s waters. In a press conference on May 7, the Vietnam Marine Police published photographs and video clips showing Chinese ships attacking Vietnam's fishery boats, damaging them and injuring 6 sailors. In the following days, three other Vietnamese were injured in clashes with Chinese ships.

In recent days, China has progressively increased the number of ships and aircraft to protect its illegal oil rig. On May 11, the People's Army newspaper quoted Colonel Ngo Ngoc Thu, Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff of the Vietnam Marine Police Agency, as saying that the number of Chinese vessels operating in the area of the illegal oil rig was 82, an increase of three over the previous day. They consisted of 3 battleships, 42 law enforcement boats, 14 freighters, 6 oil and gas service vessels and 17 fishing vessels.

Currently, many Chinese aircraft are continuously operating in the area. The marine police forces also observed two groups of Chinese military aircraft flying over Vietnamese ships at an altitude of 800-1,000m.

China has also expanded the scope of a ban on ships around the rig from 3 to 10 nautical miles.

Events leading to the current skirmish began on May 1, when the oil rig and three oil service ships moved from the Northwest Tri Ton Island of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago to the south. On May 2, the oil rig was anchored at southern Tri Ton Island, 80 nautical miles into the continental shelf of Vietnam, and only 119 nautical miles from Ly Son Island and 130 nautical miles off the mainland coast of Vietnam.

According to the Chinese Marine Affairs Department, it set the oil rig for "continental shelf drilling" and prohibited the operation of ships within a radius of three nautical miles from the rig.

At an international conference held in Hanoi on May 7, Vietnam confirmed that the Chinese oil rig and ships were operating well within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. China's actions are a serious violation of Vietnam’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction under the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. China is also violating the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and other related agreements between the two countries, as well as the agreement on basic principles guiding settlement of sea issues between Vietnam and China. Vietnam demanded that China immediately withdraw the oil rig and vessels from its waters.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group also voiced strong objections to China’s acts, requesting the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to immediately cease its illegal activities and withdraw the oil rig from Vietnam's waters.

Deputy Prime Minister cum Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh spoke by telephone with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi to voice his opposition to the operation of the oil rig and Chinese vessels in the continental shelf of Vietnam. Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also met the Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi to hand him a note of protest.

The U.S. and Japan have also raised their voices, asserting that China's actions are a provocation which is creating tension in the East Sea.

This is considered a serious crisis in Vietnam-China relations. Many experts believe that China's move clearly exposes its goal of exclusively occupying the East Sea.

Tran Cham