Vietnam snares Chinese boats for illegal fishing

By Hoang Tao   March 2, 2017 | 11:12 pm PT
Vietnam snares Chinese boats for illegal fishing
A Chinese boat caught fishing illegally in Vietnamese waters on Thursday. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Tri
Three Chinese boats were caught fishing just 40 kilometers off the country's central coast.

Border guards in the central province of Quang Binh on Thursday seized two fishing boats with nine Chinese crew on board and chased away another for violating Vietnamese waters.

The boats were caught fishing around 40 kilometers offshore and more than 20 kilometers beyond the fishing grounds shared by Vietnam and China.

Quang Binh sent 16 border guards to stop two of the boats. The nine Chinese fishermen had to sign penalty documents before they were released. The third Chinese boat upped anchor and fled.

China’s agriculture ministry last month issued an international ban on fishing in a number of areas from May 1 to August 16, which include the waters in the Gulf of Tonkin in the East Sea, known internationally as the South China Sea.

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry and its fishing associations have both strongly opposed the ban, saying it seriously violates Vietnam’s sovereignty.

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>Vietnam opposes Chinese fishing ban in troubled waters

>Dozens of Vietnamese fishermen arrested in Australian waters

 
 
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