By Nguyen Trinh Don, Van Pham and Nguyen Phuong Ngan

The South China Sea Chronicle Initiative | October 2nd, 2024

Around 9:15 PM on Monday, September 30^th, the fishing boat QNg 95739 TS with its 10-member crew arrived at Sa Kỳ Port (Bình Châu commune, Bình Sơn district, Quảng Ngãi province) after a horrific trip, according to a Tien Phong’s report. Upon docking, the fishermen were taken care of by the local authorities as well as Border Guard, Public Security, and health personnel. Four seriously injured crew members were rushed to emergency in Quảng Ngãi General Hospital while the authorities were talking to the other six to investigate the incident.  

Fishermen relentlessly beaten by metal rods

Writhing in pain inside the boat’s cabin, fisherman Huỳnh Tiến Công (aged 47, from Tịnh Hòa commune, Quảng Ngãi city) could not sit up as he suffered grave injuries and broken limbs. The medical team had to transfer Công on a stretcher. 

In the ambulance, Công recalled in shock that two steel vessels 301 and 101 approached their fishing boat from the rear. As soon as they boarded the boat, these people unleashed torrents of vicious assaults against the fishing crew. They used a rod that looked like 1-metre long and made of stainless steel to beat Công in his arms and legs. 

“They beat me so relentlessly that I did not know where I got hit. I did not dare resist but lay there and suffered … After the beating, they ushered the rest of our crew to the bow, forcing us to kneel with our hands covering our heads. They then put a boat covering tarp on top of us so we couldn’t see anything,” said Công.

Still stunned after his gruesome experience at sea, captain Nguyễn Thanh Biên (aged 40, from Châu Thuận Biển hamlet, Bình Châu commune, Bình Sơn district) of QNg 95739 TS said that on Sunday, September 29th, at around 6 AM, the AIS device on his boat detected a vessel with the number 301, which was not visible by eye. Roughly an hour after the first AIS signal, the ship 301 approached and chased after his boat.

As the ship drew near, it released two motorboats, which tried to get close (for their men to) board the fishing boat but failed. A few moments later, another steel ship, numbered 101, approached and launched another motorboat to circle the fishing boat. 

“Around 10 AM, about 40 men in camouflage uniforms from the two steel ships boarded our boat. Each with a metal rod, they started beating indiscriminately whomever happened to be in their way. I tried to run towards the bow but were caught by two men, who beat me nonstop until I completely passed out. I only regained consciousness about an hour later”, recalled captain Biên. 

Seeing Biên fainting from the beating, his brother Nguyễn Thương (aged 34) begged on his knees and was spared by those men. “Around 1 PM on September 29^th, the men in camouflage outfits began leaving our boat with a translator and about five other men staying behind. The translator then told us to steer the boat towards Viet Nam. When we checked our fishing equipment and devices, we found that all had been taken except a GSP (to allow us) to return”, said Thương.

Also according to Thương, the ship 101 continued to follow their boat on the way back. At around 50 nautical miles from the shoreline, they met a Viet Nam’s Fisheries Surveillance ship, whose personnel boarded their boat to provide first aids for the injured fishermen, before they continued traveling home.

Border Guard’s officers in Quảng Ngãi province have collected information from the fishermen. According to these accounts, almost all of the fishing equipment on the boat were either destroyed or taken away together with their 4 tons of catch. The damage was estimated to be around 500 hundred million VND (over US$ 20,000).

The second attack, just few hours later

At 3:00 PM on the same day, a Chinese ship reportedly approached, controlled, assaulted, and threatened the captain and crew of another Vietnamese fishing vessel with registration number QNg 90659TS. The vessel was anchored at coordinates 16 degrees 11 minutes North latitude, 112 degrees 23 minutes East longitude, not far away from the location of the first attack estimated based on AIS data. The Chinese ship subsequently seized all equipment and approximately 3.5 tonnes of a variety of fish. The total initial damage was about 300 million VND (~12,000 USD).

The attackers apparently are members of local law enforcement, not the central China Coast Guard

By integrating AIS data with multiple local and state media reports, it is possible to identify at least two vessels involved in these attacks: Sansha Zhifa 301 and Sansha Zhifa 101, both of which are affiliated with Sansha City’s Sansha Comprehensive Law Enforcement. While it is known that SCLE has worked closely with the Hainan contingent of the China Coast Guard in various incidents, we have not found any evidence of the direct involvement of the China Coast Guard in these particular assaults. This seems to be a new grey zone tactic in which brutal and inhumane actions are executed by local forces, allowing the central authority to disclaim responsibility.

In response to a Reuters request for comment, China’s foreign ministry did not deny that “relevant Chinese authorities took measures to stop” the Vietnamese fishing boats “illegally fished” in relevant waters of Paracel islands, but insisted that the on-site operations “were professional and restrained, and no injuries were found.”

Several Chinese observers asserted that these Vietnamese fishing boats were, in reality, maritime militia and thus warranted treatment accordingly. However, they were unable to provide any evidence to support the claim.

Efforts continue to reconstruct the scenes, and the report will be updated should new facts arise.

References:

Tien Phong 01/10/2024: https://tienphong.vn/tau-ca-ngu-dan-quang-ngai-bi-danh-dap-da-man-tren-bien-da-ve-den-dat-lien-post1678127.tpo

Phung Ba Vuong is the Chairman of the People’s Committee (local government) of Binh Son district.

Reuters 01/10/2024: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/vietnam-fishing-boat-attacked-near-contested-south-china-sea-islands-media-2024-10-01/

Zoe Haver (2021) China Maritime Report No. 12: Sansha City in China’s South China Sea Strategy: Building a System of Administrative Control

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We thank Vessel Finder, local authority and Tien Phong newspaper for generous sharing of data and photos.

Principles and Mission of The South China Sea Chronicle Initiative.

Corresponding email: sukybiendong@gmail.com.

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