Vietnam sets up sea patrol amid rising tensions with China
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Hanoi - The Vietnamese government on Tuesday announced patrols to protect its fishing grounds as tensions rise with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Four boats are to be deployed from January 25 "to prevent harmful activities and illegal fishing in Vietnamese waters," said Vu Van Tam, fisheries chief and a deputy minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The "maritime surveillance force" would arrest crews and impose fines on local and foreign vessels violating fishing laws within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from the coast, the government said.
The force would also guard "the country's sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea)," the government said in a decree.
On Monday, the crew of a Vietnamese oil exploration vessel accused Chinese fishing boats of cutting one of its cables Friday in the Gulf of Tonkin, about 70 kilometres south-east of Con Co Island.
China lays claim to most of the South China Sea, where Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims. The area is home to key shipping lanes and rich resources.//DPA
