He was responding to a reporter’s question on Vietnam’s reaction to the Chinese seizure of Vietnamese vessels and fishermen in the area. Mr Dung acknowledged that two vessels and 25 fishermen had returned to Vietnam safely.

According to the spokesperson, Chinese patrol forces on June 21 arrested three fishing boats manned by 37 fishermen from Quang Ngai province while they were fishing normally in the waters of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago. The seizure is “a clear violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty and sovereign rights in the East Sea,” said Mr Dung.

Upon receiving information of the incident, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a diplomatic note to the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi, requesting the Chinese side to immediately release the fishermen and their vessels. It also asked the Chinese side not to further interfere with the normal activities of Vietnamese fishermen in Vietnam’s sovereign territorial waters.