SINGAPORE: Vietnam is accusing China security officials of assaulting and robbing fishermen near the contested Paracel Islands, a government statement in local media said on Thursday. According to the reports, Chinese surveillance vessel stopped a Vietnamese fishing boat from entering the area around the Paracel archipelago to shelter from high winds on February 22, the Foreign Minsitry said. According to local news reports, Chinese crewmen beat the fishermen and robbed them of their catch, causing an estimated loss of 25,000 dollars. The move “seriously infringed upon the sovereignty rights and jurisdiction rights of Vietnam,” foreign ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi said. Thanh Nghi told Bikyamasr.com on Thursday that “it is completely unacceptable that Vietnamese citizens have been harassed in our own waters.” A representative from Vietnam's foreign ministry met with officials from the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi to protest the incident. Both countries claim sovereignty over the Paracel islands, which lie around 180 kilometers from each coast. Each country administrated part of the archipelago until China occupied all of it after a clash in 1974. The Chinese government has yet to make an official statement concerning the reported incident. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/8niYu Tags: China, featured, Fishermen, Paracel Islands, Vietnam Section: East Asia, Human Rights, Latest News
