A Chinese Coast Guard ship (right) using a water cannon to attack a Vietnamese Fisheries Surveillance boat near to the site of the Chinese oil rig in early June. Both sides have traded accusations over encounters at sea. Photo: AFP
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/china/article/1528415/china-accuses-vietnam-ramming-its-ships-1416-times-around-disputed-oil China
China accuses Vietnam of ramming its ships 1,416 times around disputed oil rig
Foreign ministry says Vietnam's ships have been attempting to break through China’s cordon around disputed islands
A Chinese Coast Guard ship (right) using a water cannon to attack a Vietnamese Fisheries Surveillance boat near to the site of the Chinese oil rig in early June. Both sides have traded accusations over encounters at sea. Photo: AFP
China has accused Vietnam of ramming its ships more than 1,000 times in a disputed part of the South China Sea, where it has been taking various steps to assert its claim and stirring tensions with Asian neighbours.
China also said that while it wants good relations with its southern neighbour, it would not abandon principles to achieve that.
Shortly after China brought its oil rig into the area, Vietnam sent a large number of vessels, frogmen, and dropped numerous obstacles, including fishing nets, into the sea, China’s foreign ministry said yesterday.
“As of 5pm on June 7, there were as many as 63 Vietnamese vessels in the area at the peak, attempting to break through China’s cordon and ramming the Chinese government ships for a total of 1,416 times,” the ministry said in a statement.
“In the face of Vietnam’s provocative actions on the sea, China exercised great restraint and took necessary preventive measures,” the ministry said, adding that China sent ships to the area to ensure the safety of its operations.
A Vietnamese fishing boat sank on May 26 during a confrontation not far from where China has towed an oil rig, accompanied by a cordon of Chinese vessels, 240 kilometres off Vietnam.
The dispute is the most serious deterioration of relations between the Communist states and traditional rivals since a brief war in 1979 following Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia.
The foreign ministry said China has communicated with Vietnam more than 30 times at various levels, asking it to “stop its illegal disruption”.
“China wants good relations with Vietnam, but there are principles that China cannot abandon,” it said. “The channel of communication between China and Vietnam is open.”
Scores of Vietnamese and Chinese ships, including coastguard vessels, have squared off around the rig despite a series of collisions after the platform was towed to the area in early May. Until the May 26 incident, no ship had sunk.
The Haiyang Shiyou 981 rig is drilling between the Paracel islands occupied by China and the Vietnamese coast. Vietnam has said the rig is in its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone and on its continental shelf. China says it is operating within its waters.
The rig’s deployment also set off anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam last month in which at least four people were killed.
China claims about 90 per cent of the South China Sea, displaying its reach on official maps with a so-called nine-dash line that stretches deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to parts of the potentially energy-rich waters.