JAKARTA: The Vietnam government has accused China of seizing for ransom two fishing boats with 21 fishermen on board near the disputed Paracel Islands, reports said on Wednesday. A Chinese patrol ship seized the boats March 3, said Nguyen Huu Chi, director of the Ly Son Radio Broadcasting Station, a government-run station to which fishermen report. The men were taken to Woody Island, which belongs to the Paracel archipelago, he said. The fishermen called their families March 12 asking for 70,000 Chinese yuan (over 11,000 dollars) to get their fishing boats released, a report in the Thanh Nien newspaper said. They have yet to be released. Both countries claim sovereignty over the Paracel Islands, which lie about 180 kilometers from each country's coast. Despite a series of maritime agreements aimed at resolving tensions that was signed last year, Vietnam continues to protest Chinese activity on or near the islands. Each country administrated part of the archipelago until China occupied all of it after a clash in 1974. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/hxs6x Tags: China, Fishermen, Paracel, Ransom, Vietnam Section: East Asia, Latest News, Southeast Asia
