Last week, Vietnam accused China of opening fire on a fishing boat, burning down its cabin, in the disputed South China Sea on March 20, Reuters reports.
The Vietnamese Government characterized the incident as “very serious”, urging China to reprimand those responsible.
On the other hand, the Chinese navy said that the attack on Vietnamese fishing boats in waters off the Xisha Islands was a not a truthful account of events, according to Xinhua.
Namely, on March 20, four Vietnamese fishing boats illegally entered and fished in the territorial waters off China’s Xisha Islands, an unnamed official with the Chinese navy explained.
Chinese staff aboard a patrolling vessel attempted to indicate the boats to leave the area, after which they fired into the sky two warning signal shells, the source further added.
Reportedly, Vietnamese fishing boats have frequently illegally entered China’s territorial waters although the Xisha Islands have been inherent parts of the Chinese territory.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, March 28, 2013