China dismisses Vietnam fishing boat accusations
Posted 26 March 2013, 22:14 AEST
China says it is "necessary and legitimate" to take action against Vietnamese vessels that enter its waters illegally, after accusations it attacked a Vietnamese fishing boat on Monday.
Vietnam's foreign ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi said his country "strongly protests" the incident and has urged China to investigate and compensate the Vietnamese fishermen for their loss.
Using the disputed islands' Chinese name, China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said "the Xisha islands are China's inherent territory, China has indisputable sovereignty over the Xisha islands".
"It is necessary and legitimate for China to take action against a Vietnamese shipping boat that has entered China's waters for illegal activity," he said.
"According to verification with the relevant party, no damage was caused to the fishing boat from Vietnam at the time."
Mr Hong declined to confirm whether the Chinese vessel had shot at the Vietnamese boat.
Vietnam and China have long-standing territorial disputes over the Spratly and Paracel Islands and often trade diplomatic barbs over oil exploration and fishing rights.
China claims virtually all of the South China Sea, which includes both island groups and is believed could sit atop huge oil and gas reserves, as well as being home to important fishing grounds.
Vietnam says hundreds of fishing boat crews have been arrested by Chinese authorities in recent years.
AFP
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