Vietnam, Philippines Protest Chinese Assault in South China Sea

Crew members of China's South Sea Fleet taking part in a drill in the Xisha Islands, or the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on May 5, 2016. Ben Dooley, STR/AFP via Getty Images

The Vietnamese government on Oct. 2 reported that Chinese law enforcement officers had beaten and taken fishing equipment from Vietnamese fishermen on a boat operating near the Paracel Islands three days prior on Sept. 29.

Vietnam lodged a protest with the Chinese communist regime, and on Oct. 4 the Philippine government issued a statement condemning the Chinese enforcers’ “unjustified assault” on Vietnamese fishermen.

The Paracel Islands are a small archipelago, near equidistant off the coasts of Vietnam and Hainan, China. Both countries claim the territory as their own, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims all of the South China Sea as its territory, a claim the international Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague has rejected as legally meritless.

“Vietnam is extremely concerned, indignant, and resolutely protests the brutal treatment by Chinese law enforcement forces of Vietnamese fishermen and fishing boats operating in the Hoang Sa archipelago of Vietnam,” foreign ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said in a statement.

The government said the attack left several fishermen injured. Vietnamese state media reported that 40 people from two vessels beat and injured 10 fishermen with iron pipes.

The Vietnamese government petitioned Beijing to investigate the incident and respect Vietnam’s sovereignty. The Chinese regime responded that Vietnamese ships had been fishing illegally without Beijing’s permission, so authorities stopped them. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson claimed the incident was “professional and restrained, and no injuries were found.”

On Friday, Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano called the incident an “egregious act.”

The Philippine Coast Guard has had several tense encounters with Chinese vessels in recent weeks around the Escoda Shoal and Sabina Shoal, including two vessel collisions, a Chinese vessel firing a water cannon at a Philippine vessel, and a fleet of 40 Chinese vessels blocking a Philippine resupply mission. Philippine authorities have lodged multiple protests, and international officials condemned the CCP’s actions, with the United States suggesting a U.S. escort of future Philippine resupply missions was an option.

Vietnam, under its new leader To Lam, is seeking to maintain alliances on all sides. To’s first foreign trip as Vietnam’s leader was to China to meet with CCP leader Xi Jinping and came soon after Vietnam upgraded its diplomatic ties with the United States as Western countries move their supply chains out of China and pivot to strengthen the liberal rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific.

Last month, Vietnam participated in a joint coast guard drill with the Philippines, stating the Vietnamese entry into Philippine territory for exercises had “a great political significance.”

Vietnam’s Defense Ministry stated the joint drill would improve cooperation and their “law enforcement ability at sea,” signaling concerns about stability in the region.

Lily Zhou contributed to this report.