What have happened to the so-called "we are free to fish within our sovereign waters” as Mr. Chairman Truong Tan Sang recently said in the above statement?
Below incidents have happened in May 2014 alone:
- On May 7, 16 Quang Ngai fishermen were attacked by Chinese ships with fire bullets, water cannons, hammers and sickles in the Paracel area, north of Con Linh Island.
- On May 16, Quang Ngai fishing boat with plate number QNG 90205TS was attacked by Chinese ships at the area of Vietnam’s Phu Lam Island in the Paracel area. Two Vietnamese fishermen were seriously injured.
- On May 17, 13 Quang Ngai fishermen on the fishing boat QNG96011TS were attacked near Tri Ton Island in the Paracel area. Their personal belongings and fishing gears were robbed.
- On May 25, Quang Ngai fishing boat QNG 96180TS carrying 7 fishermen was rammed by Chinese ships and sank. One fisherman died, 1 is missing at sea and four were seriously injured.
- On May 26, Da Nang fishing boat DNA90152TS with 10 fishermen was surrounded by 40 Chinese fishing boats. The Vietnamese boat was later rammed and sank near the area where the HD-981 rig is illegally deployed in violation of Vietnam’s territorial waters.
The above incidents have happened “within our sovereign waters." Our fishermen have seriously taken Sang’s words that “when facing natural disasters and enemy sabotage, fishermen should quickly notify the authorities for timely interventions to protect lives and property.” However, during this time of enemy sabotage and natural disaster Vietnam’s navy has been completely absent.
"Around 3 a.m. on May 25, while anchoring our boat overnight within the waters of Quang Ninh province, our boat was rammed by an unidentified boat at the boat's cockpit area. At that time, we were sleeping and didn’t know what had happened. When our boat was hit we became panic. Just 5 minutes later, the boat sank into the sea. At that time, we could take a guffa then put three seriously injured fishermen onto the guffa. Three remaining fishermen on board, who suffered minor injuries, attempted to save Tran Van Dong but they could not. Dong went down with the boat.
After six of us boarded a small guffa, we tried to stay afloat and oared the guffa with our hands for nearly 5 hours. We were very tired but we motivated one another. Fortunately, when we were nearly exhausted, a Hai Phong fishing boat came to rescue us and escorted us to Co To district, Quang Ninh province,” a fisherman in Ly Son Island recounts the horrors that happened to his fishing boat QNG96180 TS.
Five hours of floating on a deserted sea without a shadow of navy or coast guard. The only help came from other fishermen.
It’s worth noting that after the incident, Quang Ninh police vowed to make “collaboration with relevant authorities to investigate, to hunt for the ship which caused the sinking of the fishing boat QNG 96180TS.”A vast area of the East coast has been left open; dying fishermen could not be saved; now, where can they hunt for the perpetrators?
Listening to Sang, what do people get?
After the death and an accident, people can get:
Relatives of a dead or missing fisherman can get 1.5 million VND (about 70 USD) from the Fatherland Front, 10 million VND from Quang Ngai Fisheries Association and 10 million VND from the state Labor Federation. An injured fisherman can get 2 million VND.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam summons Chinese Embassy representative in Hanoi to exchange diplomatic protest against actions that threaten, attack fishing boats, endanger the lives of Vietnamese fishermen on the East Sea.
Making objection after objection as the authorities have done through the years and Vietnamese fishermen are still facing great dangers from the Communist China right on the sea of our ancestors.
And at the World Economic Forum recently held in Manila, Nguyen Tan Dung made his statement about the behavior of Communist China: “This is a particularly serious violation of international law and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), of which China is a signatory party. China's actions have been a direct threat to the peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight on the East Sea."
Peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight... How’s about the lives of the Vietnamese fishermen, Mr. Prime Minister?
Or [they] just accept the current status quo and raise the propaganda tone of Le Thanh Hai, the communist party chief in Saigon, “We are not afraid! Why be afraid! Congress passed the law of the sea, showing the will and strong aspirations of our people."
