China denies assaulting Vietnamese fishermen

Last Updated: Thursday, March 01, 2012, 16:51

A- A A+

Tags: China, Vietnam, Vietnamese fishermen

China denies assaulting Vietnamese fishermen

Beijing: Amid its dispute with Vietnam over sovereignty of some islands in the South China Sea, China today refuted reports that its maritime forces assaulted and robbed 11 Vietnamese fishermen near the disputed Xisha Islands.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei told a media briefing here that Chinese maritime forces did not use force in the law-enforcement process nor they boarded the Vietnamese ship.

Media reports said the Vietnamese fishermen had been assaulted and robbed by the Chinese side.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi said today that China's action seriously infringed upon Vietnam's sovereignty and gravely threatened the lives and security of its fishermen.

Hong reaffirmed that China has indisputable sovereignty over the Xisha Islands and its adjacent waters. Chinese departments have recently expelled from China some Vietnamese ships committing fishing piracy in the waters of the Xisha Islands, Hong said, noting China's action is legitimate and lawful.

In the spirit of humanism, China has always offered rescue assistance to Vietnamese fishermen in real distress, and Vietnam has also expressed gratitude for this help, Hong added.

Hong asked the Vietnamese side to respect China's sovereignty over the Xisha Islands and take effective measures to strengthen education and regulation of its fishermen, in a bid to stop illegal fishing operations and safeguard the China-Vietnam friendship.

PTI

For Zee News’s Updates, follow us on Twitter , Facebook, Google+, Pinterest

First Published: Thursday, March 01, 2012, 16:51

Post your Comments

Name:
Place :
Email :
Comments :

Comments

eyedrd - USA
Let’s take a look at a situation where a navy ship heavily equipped with guns and missiles saw small fishing boats,unarmed, wandering into the water that the navy ship was guarding.What would that navy ship should act or behave toward those small fishing ships looking for shelter due to the big wind? In a civilized maritime law, the navy ship should have come into the rescue of the small ships in danger and then direct those ships out of their turf.Instead, this navy ship shot at unarmed fishermen and beat them up and confiscated all of the catches, worth of $25,000. Is it a normal conduct of a navy? or the behavior of the navy ship was just like any pirates using force to brutalize unarmed people and rob their catcheshttp://www.eyedrd.org/2012/02/chinese-navy-hegemony-continues-to-bully-its-neighbors-and-acts-as-pirates.html

Post your Comments X
Name
Place :
Email :
Comments :

citizen2000 - USA
It was not that long ago that China killed dozens of Vietnamese sailors on a small Spratley island. They just mowed them down with machine guns from a Chinese warship. China aims to modernize its military so that it can deny the US access to the region and convince countries in the region that America is an unreliable ally. Our American universities are helping them to modernize their military. At the University of Michigan most of the graduate students and visiting scientists in the naval architecture and engineering department are from China. UM faculty have been to china to lecture on cruise missile guidance systems and anti-satellite weapons. Read more at www.china-threat.com.