The boat QNg 96416TS was moving about 7 nautical miles to the south of Lincoln island in Viet Nam’s Hoang Sa archipelago when a steel vessel plated 4006 and a motorboat of China came very near, causing big waves that made the 16 fishermen and many objects on the Vietnamese boat to fall into the water, and water to enter the boat.

It was reported that some people on the Chinese vessels got on to the Vietnamese boat to pump water out and brought the Vietnamese fishermen back to the boat. They then forced the captain of the Vietnamese boat to fingerprint some documents in foreign languages and took away a large volume of seafood, fishing tools and equipment on the QNg 96416 TS.

Immediately on June 10, the Consular Department and the Viet Nam Embassy in Beijing contacted the Chinese side and affirmed Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa Islands.

The Vietnamese agencies also requested the Chinese side to investigate the incident and inform the investigation results to Viet Nam’s authorized authorities for coordinating in addressing the incident.

On June 12, the vessel QNg 96416TS and all fishermen on board safely landed in Sa Ky, the central province of Quang Ngai. The fishermen are now under quarantine in Quang Ngai’s Binh Son medical center in accordance with the Southeast Asian nation’s current COVID-19 prevention regulations.  

Vietnamese competent authorities are working to collect and verify information on the incident and will continue to contact the Chinese side to protect the national sovereignty and Vietnamese fishermen’s legitimate rights and interests./.