Marine forces pledge continued resistance

Chinese maritime surveillance ships, military vessels and fighter jets yesterday continued to harass Vietnamese forces trying to prevent an illegally-installed oil rig from drilling on Viet Nam's continental shelf.

The Viet Nam Coast Guard reported that to protect the US$1 billion Haiyang Shiyou 981, Chinese vessels continuously fired water cannons at Vietnamese ships yesterday morning.


At the same time, Chinese missile frigate 534 and Chinese helicopter B-7112 entered Vietnamese sea and air territory, the coast guard said.

According to a report by the Tuoi Tre newspaper (Youth), after being attacked by 15 Chinese maritime surveillance ships with water cannons, a Vietnamese fisheries surveillance ship used its own water cannon in defence.

Two reporters from the newspaper, who were on the Vietnamese ship, said that the counter-attack lasted an hour. They also reported that many of the Chinese ships intentionally rammed Vietnamese ships.

The newspaper quoted the Vietnamese vessel's captain as saying that the Vietnamese fisheries surveillance and coast-guard forces would make no concession to the Chinese and would appropriately respond to any violations of Viet Nam's sovereignty.