Nine Vietnamese fishermen, provided with cooking and drinks by China, were safe and healthy on Phu Lam (Woody) island of the Paracel archipelago in East Sea. Nine Vietnamese fishermen, provided with food and drinks by China, were safe and healthy on Phu Lam (Woody) island of the Paracel archipelago in East Sea, according to Vietnamese Embassy in China Saturday.

Le Van Doi, an official from Ly Son island off the coast of central Quang Ngai province where the fishermen live, confirmed the boat captain called his family Saturday to say they were safe and could be home in three days at the earliest.

20-year-old Mai Thi Bich Hue city, who has just got married and is two months pregnant, is working as a construction worker in Ho Chi Minh City. Her father boat captain Mai Phung Luu and her husband Bui Van Hai are two of nine fishermen on the Vietnamese fishing boat QNg 66487 released by China last week.

“My father and my husband are bread-winners. I must come to HCMC to earn living to take care of my family and our first-baby and continue to wait for them since they have been seized by China,” said Hue.

Hue burst out into tears when she received the call from her father yesterday afternoon from Paracel archipelago.

On the phone, Luu said after being released by China, the boat’s engine had broken down and been drifting at sea for several days. Food, water and boat oil were run out. Nine fishermen had to use mattresses, blankets and mosquito-nets to make up a sail.

After that, she tried to communicate with him again from the phone number that he called home but she failed.

According to the Vietnamese Embassy in China, at 17:30hrs (Vietnamese time) on Oct. 16, 2010, the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed that China took fishing boat QNg 66487 TS and its nine-member crew to Phu Lam island of the Hoang Sa archipelago for shelter.

The Chinese side has provided food and drinks, the embassy said. However, due to the bad weather, the fishing boat and its crew will have to stay on the island for the next few days, said the embassy.

The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry said it would have exchanges with China to safely bring fishing boat QNg 66487 TS and its nine-member crew home as soon as possible.

The fishing boat and its crew were seized September 11 by China while fishing in Vietnam’s territorial waters in the Paracel archipelago.

Vietnam has been involved in a maritime dispute with China over the Paracel which that country occupied in 1974.

The two nations, together with Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, claim all or part of the archipelago.

Also, Vietnam has accused China of repeatedly detaining Vietnamese fishing boats near the islands over the past years. Last year, it arrested 17 fishing boats and 210 fishermen from Vietnam, with all the fishermen and 13 boats having been later released.

Source: Tuoi Tre