Vietnam condemned the action of China's vessel against its fishermen, who were fishing legally within Vietnamese waters, said Le Hai Binh, Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, on Thursday.

During a regular press briefing, reporters asked Binh about the government’s reaction with regard to the attack of a Chinese vessel against the Vietnamese fishing boat.

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Binh told the reporters that Vietnamese agencies have verified the information in central Quang Ngai Province’s Ly Son Island border guard station.

According to sources, a Chinese vessel assaulted the Vietnamese fishermen and stole their assets, including the fishes, on board while they were fishing along Southeast Asian country’s Hoang Sa peninsula last week.

Last August 15, Le Khoi, owner of fishing boat QNg96697 TS, told the board guard station that at exactly 8:00 AM, Chinese vessel #46101 approached his boat with other 13 fishermen while they were fishing along the Cay Dua Island, part of Hoang Sa.

The Chinese vessel released two speedboats with 17 people on board to get near the Vietnamese fishing boat, Khoi added.

Reports said that Chinese citizens hopped on the fishing boat and threatened the Vietnamese crew members. They smashed the boat’s glass windows, destroyed three basket boats and cut off all the air hoses, Vietnamese fisherman said.

The Chinese also seized the boat’s assets like a positioning machine, Icoms, fish finders, liters of oil and four metric tons of tuna, the fisherman added.

Meanwhile, Binh, referring China’s live drills in the East Vietnam Sea, said the Vietnamese government hopes that China, being a UN Security Council’s member, will contribute to maintain peace and order in the region and the world.

TagsVietnam, Le Hai Binh, fishermen, Chinese vessel