The head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Ministry’s Aquatic Resources Development Agency on July 22 delivered a message to his Chinese counterpart asking for his intervention in the case of the Vietnamese fishermen who were arrested by Chinese patrol forces several weeks ago.

“On behalf of Vietnam’s Northern Fishery Association Committee, I protest the act of the Chinese patrol forces and I ask you to petition for the unconditional release of the Vietnamese fishermen,” the Vietnamese official, Chu Vinh Tien, wrote in the message.

Vinh also asked his Chinese counterpart, who is the chairman of the Chinese Fishery Forces, to instruct this group to obey regulations of the Tonkin Gulf Fishery Cooperation Agreement, the UN Convention on Law of the Sea 1982 and the Declaration of Behaviour in the East Sea signed by Vietnam, China and related countries.

On June 16, Chinese fishery patrol forces detained three Vietnamese fishing boats and 37 sailors while they were catching fish in the water area of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands.
 
The three captains were forced to sign a fine decision totalling 210,000 Chinese yuan, equivalent to 31,000 US dollars.
 
12 fishermen and two boats were held while the remaining boat and fishermen were sent back to Vietnam to arrange the money.
 
On June 22, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry sent a diplomatic note to the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi, asking for the immediate release of the 12 fishermen and 2 fishing boats. Quang Ngai province authorities confirmed that they would not allow the fishermen to pay the fine.

The head of the Vietnamese Fishery Development Agency also asked his Chinese counterpart to combine with Vietnamese agencies to hunt for the strange vessels that sunk two Vietnamese fishing boats on May 19 and July 15. This is the first time the agency has officially asked for China’s cooperation to seek the strange boats.

Vinh told VNE that the above proposals need to be accepted before the 6th preparatory meeting of the Vietnam-China Fishery Committees in August 2009. “If China doesn’t agree to the above proposals, Vietnam will not participate in the meeting,” Vinh said.

The Vietnam-China Fishery Meeting has been organised annually since 2004 to review fishing activities in the common fishing ground of the Tonkin Gulf. Vietnam currently has nearly 1500 fishing boats licenced to catch fish in this area, which accounts for one-third of the total area of the Tonkin Gulf.

On July 22, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry made a statement about the fishing boat from the central province of Quang Ngai, Vietnam, which was hit and sunk on July 15 while catching fish in the Vietnamese sea.

According to the Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Le Dung, the Vietnamese government pays special attention to the safety of its fishermen. Competent agencies have been urgently trying to identify the strange vessel.

“On July 16, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry sent diplomatic notes to some countries in the region, informing them about this case and asking for their cooperation to identify the strange boat to ensure safety for fishermen and marine safety,” Dung said.

(Source: VietNamNet/VNE)