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A Vietnamese fisherman operating in the South China Sea said a Chinese coast guard vessel fired a water cannon at him and his crew, leaving him with a broken arm and injuring others.
The incident happened in the early hours of Monday off Vietnam's east coast, according to local media reports, and the attack was reported to authorities in Binh Hai, in the country's eastern province of Quang Ngai, where the fishermen gave statements before being taken to hospital for treatment.
The waters east of Vietnam and south of China are contested because of overlapping claims to the Paracel Islands, over which the two countries fought a brief war in the 1970s. The island group is under Beijing's de facto control.
Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang told Reuters on Thursday: "Vietnam opposes the use of force against Vietnamese fishing boats operating normally at sea." Authorities were investigating the allegations made by Vietnamese fishermen, Pham said.
A Vietnamese fishing boat from Quảng Ngãi reports being attacked by Chinese coast guard ship numbered 4201's water cannons on Aug 28, in the waters of the Paracels. Two fishermen were injured. CCG 4201 had been used to obstruct VN & Philippine activities in #SCS in the past. pic.twitter.com/S4dulbS1CE
— South China Sea Connect (@Scs_Connect) August 31, 2023
Social media posts made by the fishing crew said the incident happened at around 5 a.m. on August 28 as they were sailing between the Vietnamese coast and the disputed Woody Island, which Hanoi calls Phu Lam and Beijing calls Yongxing.
The 10 crew members produced photographs and video of China Coast Guard vessel 4201, which they said approached and fired a water cannon at them. Owner Huynh Van Hoanh, 43, said his fishing boat was damaged in the incident, during which they sheltered in the cabin.
After returning to port, Huynh told local Vietnamese media that he suffered a broken right arm. His captain suffered a head injury, he said.
Huynh said he was in the ship's cabin when he heard crew members shouting that a Chinese ship was approaching: "Before I could even stand up to observe, the people on the ship number 4201 used a water cannon to spray me, causing me to fly and roll down to the deck."
"My eyes and nose were dark and I couldn't see anything. When I stood up, my whole body and hands were injured. Must be broken," he was quoted as saying.
China's coast guard vessels have stepped up their enforcement of territorial claims in recent years, repeatedly expelling Vietnamese fishing boats in a similar manner. Since 2014, 98 Vietnamese boats have been destroyed by Chinese vessels, according to figures published by Singapore's Straits Times, citing the local fishing association.
China Coast Guard vessel 4201 firing water cannon at a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Paracel Islands on August 28. As a result, one fisherman broke his right arm, and another suffered a head injury. Remember water cannons can be fatal! pic.twitter.com/mcisxNsZ2e
— Duan Dang (@duandang) August 30, 2023
Beijing claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, thanks to its strategically import sea lines and abundant natural resources. The United States assesses at least three artificial islands in the Spratly island group, on the western edge of the sea, have been fully militarized by China's forces.
The Philippines, another South China Sea claimant, also has complained of water cannon attacks in recent months. In February, Manila said a Chinese vessel temporarily blinded a Philippine Coast Guard crew with a "military-grade laser" during a separate standoff.
China's Foreign Ministry didn't return Newsweek emails seeking comment.
Update 9/1/23, 3:40 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional context.
