The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Le Dung said on August 11th that China had released all Vietnamese fishermen and fishing boats.

Captain Duong Van Tho (green) was set free in late June.

“On August 11th, Chinese agencies informed the Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing that they had released the fishing boat QNg 95031 and all Vietnamese fishermen, including 12 sailors of two fishing boats from the Quang Ngai province,” Le Dung said.

“The fishing boat QNg 95031 and its fishermen will return to Vietnam in the next few days,” Dung added.

He said that Vietnamese agencies were working with Chinese counterparts to deal with the remaining issues.

On August 1st, the fishing boat QNg 9501 and 12 fishermen of the central province of Quang Ngai were arrested while they were taking shelter from a tropical depression at Linh Con island, which belongs to the Hoang Sa Archipelago (Paracels).

Previously, three fishing boats and 37 fishermen, also from Quang Ngai province, were arrested by Chinese patrol forces while they were catching fish on the sea of the Hoang Sa Islands of Vietnam. The Chinese patrol forces asked Vietnamese fishermen to pay a ransom of 210,000 Chinese yuan to be released.

The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry immediately asked China to release these vessels and fishermen. On June 25, 25 fishermen were set free. However, China still kept 12 others and one fishing boat for ransom.

Vietnamese agencies continuously asked for the release of these fishing boats and their crew.

The fishing boats and their crew will return to Vietnam in the next few days.

VietNamNet/VNE