- Vietnamese coast guards seized a Chinese vessel operating illegally in its territorial waters
- The Chinese vessel was caught carrying 10,000 liters of diesel fuel
- The captain confessed that the oil will be sold to Chinese fishermen in the area
- The latest incident is likely to increase diplomatic tension between the two communist nations
The Vietnamese coast guards has seized a Chinese vessel it caught encroaching illegally into its territorial waters, the Hanoi state media reported on Monday, March 4.
According to Thanh Nien News publication, the Chinese vessel was disguised as a fishing boat but 10,000 liters of diesel oil were found aboard as it passes through the Bach Long Vi island in the Gulf of Tonkin on Thursday where it was intercepted by Vietnamese coast guards.
The Chinese boat carrying two sailors and a captain has been towed to the northern port city of Hai Phong.
The captain later confessed they were carrying the fuel to be sold to around 100 Chinese fishing boats operating illegally in Vietnamese territory, the state media said.
The Chinese government has yet to release a statement on the recent incident which is expected to heighten the tension between the two communist countries, while Vietnam refused to divulge more details about the arrest of the Chinese crew.
China and Vietnam is currently entangled in a bitter maritime dispute over the disputed Paracels chain in the South China Sea.
Several weeks ago, Beijing deployed a surface-to-air missile system and jet fighters to the Woody island; prompting Hanoi to condemn China’s continuing assertion of power in the disputed territory.
Last month, however, Chinese defense minister Chang Wanquan met with Vietnam Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong where the Chinese official urged the two nations to “increase high level exchanges and strategic communication, increase friendly feelings, and deepen border defense exchanges and practical cooperation on U.N. peacekeeping, military academic research and the defense industry.”
In response to Chang’s statement, Trong said Hanoi is willing “to cooperate with Beijing to sustain peace and stability on the basis of respecting mutual interests and abiding by internal law.”
Vietnam rarely made arrest of illegal Chinese fisherman in the past but the latest incident is widely viewed as a sign of an increasingly fragile diplomatic relations between nation-claimants in disputed South China Sea islands which also include Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Post a Comment