China had released nine Vietnamese fishermen on October 11, said Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh on October 12.

Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh

Thanh said that on October 10, China decided to release Vietnamese fishermen who were seized in September.

The fishermen and their boat were expected to return home, Quang Ngai Province in central Vietnam, late on October 12, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said on the same day.

The fishing boat, QNg 66478TS, and its crew were seized by China on September 11 while fishing in Vietnam’s territorial waters in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago. China accused the fishermen of using dynamite to catch fish. They announced they would free the fishermen and their boat once they pay the fine.

Vietnam authorities verified that Vietnamese fishermen didn’t use dynamite while catching fish in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago and asked China to release them unconditionally.

Since then, the two sides held several meetings in Hanoi and Beijing to discuss this case.

China has repeatedly detained Vietnamese fishing boats near the Hoang Sa archipelago over the past years. Last year, 17 fishing boats and 210 fishermen from Vietnam were arrested, with all the fishermen and 13 boats having been eventually released.

The East Sea is the shortest route between the Pacific and Indian Oceans and has some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes through which more than half of the global oil tanker traffic passes.

Talking to the press on the sideline of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) in Hanoi on October 12, Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh protested against the use of military measures to solve conflicts on the regional sea.

According to Minister Thanh, Vietnam suggested to the countries involved to restrict capturing fishermen who illegally enter the water territory of other countries, unless they have tresspassed many times. However, the fishermen should be treated with respect to human dignity and their fishing equipment should not be seized.

To ensure security on the sea, the Vietnamese navy has proposed to hold joint patrol with the navies of China, Cambodia, Thailand and set up hot lines with the navies of China, Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia.

Linh Thu