Vietnam accuses China of violating law after fishermen killed
Vietnam accused China of violating international law after Chinese naval police killed several Vietnamese citizens earlier this month in a fishing area in the Gulf of Tonkin. Vietnam's government said the fishermen were attacked on Jan. 8. China said Chinese fishermen in its territorial waters in what it calls the Beibu Gulf came under attack from armed robbers in three ships. The fishermen called for help from China's naval police, who returned fire after shots were fired from the ships.
``That the Chinese naval police used weapons to kill innocent people is a serious violation of international laws,'' Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said in a statement. ``Vietnam demands the Chinese side take immediate measures to prevent any similar wrongful actions, implement investigations, and strictly punish the killers.''
Vietnam and China reached agreements in 2000 on sea borders and fishing cooperation in the Gulf of Tonkin, according to the Web site of China's Foreign Ministry. This month's incident violated those accords and other accords between the neighboring countries, Dung said. Chinese fishermen and naval police were attacked first, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said on Jan 18 in a statement posted on the ministry's Web site. ``The Chinese maritime police were forced to take necessary actions, shot several armed robbers dead, captured one pirate ship and eight robbers and confiscated their weapons, ammunition and tools on the spot,'' Kong said in the statement. ``The robbers captured admitted themselves Vietnamese and confessed every criminal fact.''
Chinese Law
China's government informed Vietnam about the incident based on treaties between the two countries and will follow Chinese law in pursuing the case, Kong said. Eight armed robbers who attacked Chinese fishing boats on Jan. 8 on the Chinese side of the Beibu Gulf were killed and eight others captured, Xinhua reported yesterday in describing the incident, citing China's Foreign Ministry. Chinese fishermen were robbed of more than $360,000 worth of fishing nets and fish products, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry account, Xinhua said.
Vietnam's government said its nationals involved in the incident were ``honest laborers.'' Vietnam demanded repatriation of detainees and the payment of compensation for the losses of Vietnamese fishermen. The recorded history of clashes between the Chinese and Vietnamese dates back to at least the first century, when two Vietnamese sisters led a national uprising against Chinese rule. The two countries fought a border war in 1979.
Outstanding Dispute
Though diplomatic relations were normalized in 1991, followed by a 1999 agreement on land borders and the 2000 maritime accord, outstanding disputes include competing claims to the Spratly Islands.
``If the Vietnamese who were killed or detained were in fact robbers, particularly if they were armed, then they were pirates and China had not only the right but the duty to suppress them,'' said Mark Valencia, a Hawaii-based expert on maritime policy and boundary disputes, in a telephone interview. ``On the other hand, if they were only illegally fishing, then China should not have used lethal force and there are provisions in the Tonkin Gulf treaty to handle such a situation,'' he said. ``And the fisheries agreement also does call for a common fishing area, where both sides can fish.''
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi in October, a visit termed ``a crucial political event'' by Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An. ``It's disappointing that they have a treaty and this kind of thing can still occur,'' Valencia said. ``But I don't think it's going to fundamentally affect Chinese-Vietnamese relations.''
By Jason Folkmanis - Bloomberg - January 24, 2005
8 Vietnamese robbers shot dead in China sea
BEIJING - China hopes to make joint efforts with Vietnam to fight against maritime crimes and ensure a stable and harmonious environment for the two countries' fishermen, according to the Foreign Ministry on Sunday. Chinese maritime police shot dead eight armed robbers and captured eight others who robbed Chinese fishing boats operating on Jan. 8 at the Chinese side of the Beibu Gulf, according to the Foreign Ministry.
According to Chinese border police, on the morning of Jan. 8, six Chinese fishing boats from south China's Hainan Province were operating on the Chinese side of the Beibu Gulf, and three unidentified armed vessels came and robbed them 310 fishing nets and fish products worth more than 3 million yuan (361,445 US dollars) and the robbers fired at the Chinese boats when they tried to chase after them. Chinese maritime police rushed to the spot for rescue immediately after receiving report from the Chinese fishermen. Thethree armed vessels first opened fire at the police boats and hurled antitank grenades and dynamite to them. Chinese maritime police were forced to fight back after they had stated their identity and shot to the sky as warning.
Chinese maritime police intercepted one of the three armed robber boats in Chinese sea area, while the other two boats entered Vietnamese sea area. During the fighting, eight robbers were killed and eight were seized. One Chinese maritime policeman was injured, one police boat suffered three gunshots and one Chinese fishing boat sufferedeight gunshots. Chinese maritime police also seized one submachine gun, one gunsheath, and 88 bullets, and the rest weapons and ammunition were seen thrown into sea before Chinese maritime police got aboard.
After the incident, the Chinese side has informed the Vietnamese side of the issue in detail in accordance with the Sino-Vietnamese consulate treaty and organized relative visits of the Vietnamese consulates. 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, many Chinese fishing boats have been robbed in the joint fishing area, as has posed serious threat to the life and property safety of Chinese fishermen.
Xinhuanet - January 23, 2005
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