China defends shooting of Vietnamese at sea
BEIJING - China has defended its shooting of what it called Vietnamese "robbers" in the Gulf of Tonkin, after Hanoi demanded Beijing punish police who killed nine Vietnamese fishermen in early January. Sailors on three Vietnamese boats robbed and fired on Chinese fisherman in the gulf on Jan. 8, prompting police to return fire, Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said in a statement.
"It was really a serious armed robbery incident at sea," Kong said in the statement, posted on the ministry Web site www.mfa.gov.cn late on Friday. "Having received calls for help, Chinese public security boats rushed to the area for rescue, but the three armed boats first shot at the Chinese boats and law enforcement personnel," he said. Fishing rights have long been caught up in territorial disputes between China and Vietnam which, despite ideological and cultural similarities, have historically had testy relations. Kong said police shot dead several Vietnamese and seized one of the ships, along with eight sailors. They confessed to having committed other robberies in the gulf, he said.
"China is willing to cooperate with the Vietnam side to tighten cooperations in cracking down on all criminal offences at sea and maintaining joint efforts to promote safety and stability in the northern gulf," Kong said, using the Chinese name for the Gulf of Tonkin.
He did not elaborate.
Hanoi demanded on Thursday that China punish sailors who killed nine Vietnamese fishermen in the gulf by opening fire on two boats they suspected of entering Chinese waters illegally. Vietnamese state media said the Chinese ships had opened fire on the two fishing boats without warning, killing instantly nine and wounding five. One vessel was taken away by the Chinese ships along with eight bodies and eight fishermen, including two wounded. The other boat escaped, a newspaper said.
China and Vietnam signed a fishing agreement in 2000, but Beijing stirred a protest from Hanoi in August 2002 by banning fishing in the South China Sea, over which Vietnam claims jurisdiction. In late December, China held nine Vietnamese fishing boats and their crew of 80 on the southern island province of Hainan on suspicion of trespassing in Chinese waters, Chinese media reported.
Reuters - January 15, 2005.
FM : Vietnamese sea bandits shot, captured
Chinese maritime police shot dead several armed robbers and captured eight others who were trying to rob Chinese fishing boats operating on January 8 at the Chinese side of the Beibu Gulf, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday. According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan, on the morning of January 8, several Chinese fishing boats from Hainan Province were operating on the Chinese side of the Beibu Gulf, and three unidentified armed vessels came trying to rob and firing at the Chinese boats.
Chinese maritime police rushed to the spot for rescue immediately after receiving report from the fishermen. The three armed vessels opened fire at the police boats and injured Chinese law enforcement personnel, Kong said. The Chinese maritime police were forced to take necessary actions. They shot dead several armed robbers, seized one of the armed vessels and eight robbers along with their weapons and ammunition and tools, he said.
Calling it a "serious armed robbery case at sea," Kong said the robbers had confessed they were Vietnamese, and had committed four armed robberies of Chinese fishing boats in the Beibu Gulf before.
The Chinese side has informed the Vietnamese side of the issue in detail in accordance with the Sino-Vietnamese consulate treaty, Kong said. "The Chinese has abundant and irrefutable human testimony and material evidence, and will handle the case according to Chinese law."
The spokesman said since the agreements on demarcation and fishery cooperation in the Beibu Gulf between China and Vietnam took effect last June, the overall situation there is stable. However, the armed robberies of Chinese fishing boats have posed serious threat to the life and property safety of Chinese and Vietnamese fishermen.
China is willing to cooperate closely with Vietnam so that the two countries can take effective measures to combat maritime crimes and safeguard security and stability in the Beibu Gulf, he said.
Xinhua - January 15, 2005.
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