Chinese fishing vessels violate Vietnam sovereignty
As many as 8,994 trawlers were said to set sail at 12pm on August 1 and fish in the East Sea areas which in fact belong to Vietnam’s territorial waters.
Their trip coincides with the expiry of China’s unilateral fishing ban in the East Sea, Chinese media reported.
Sina.com revealed that many of the 35,611 fishermen gathered in Hainan island on July 31 preparing for the trip to the area they call “Sansha fishing ground.”
The Hainan Daily quoted representatives of the Hainan provincial Fisheries and Ocean Department as saying that the province will promote fishing in the East Sea by encouraging fishermen to build large vessels for off-shore fishing in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.
This act once again violates Vietnam’s sovereignty, following China’s recent activities that have provoked a public outcry in the region, especially after it tried to legalise the so-called Sansha City in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago.
The spokesman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has many times confirmed that Vietnam has sufficient legal and historical evidence to proclaim its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.
China sent a fleet of 30 fishing vessels to Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago earlier this year.
A representative from the MoFA’s National Border Committee has said that Chinese fishing activity around the Truong Sa archipelago is illegal and violates Vietnam’s sovereignty over the area.