Quang Ngai fishing boats at Sa Ky fish port

Vietnam strongly condemns inhumane actions against its fishermen operating legally in the country’s waters, said Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Le Hai Binh at a regular press briefing in Hanoi on August 21.

He made the response to queries about Vietnam’s stance on information that a Chinese vessel recently attacked a fishing boat hailing from Ly Son island in the central province of Quang Ngai and robbed assets and fish on board when it was catching in the waters of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago.

Vietnam’s authorised agencies are urgently verifying the information, he stated.

About China’s live ammunition drills in the East Sea from August 20 to September 3, Binh said Vietnam hopes that China, as a member of the UN Security Council, will make responsible contributions to maintaining peace in the region and the world.

As reported by the China Maritime Safety Administration, the location of the drills is near Leizhou Peninsula of China, he added.

Regarding to a shooting at sea on Fiji islands in a video clip posted on Youtube on August 17, Binh confirmed that none of Vietnamese fishing vessels has so far operated in Fiji’s waters.

The Foreign Ministry has asked the Vietnamese Embassy in New Zealand and Fiji to verify the information, he said.

(Source:VNA)