Nine Vietnamese fishermen and a fishing boat were illegally detained by China while they were fishing off Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracels) archipelago, a local official said April 18.
On April 14, while operating off Da Loi Island, part of Hoang Sa, nine fishermen aboard the QNg-66478 TS boat were seized by a Chinese naval force, Duong Nhut, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee of An Hai Commune, Ly Son District, Quang Ngai Province, reported.
The boat is owned by Mai Phung Luu, a fisherman in An Hai Commune’s Tay Hamlet, he said.
The captor demanded a ransom of 70,000 yuan for the release of the crew and their boat.
The Ly Son Island Border Guard Post has reported the case to the provincial Border Guard Command for interference to protect the illegally detained fishermen.
Nearly a month ago, twelve Vietnamese fishermen and a fishing boat, of the province’s Binh Son District, were seized on March 22 while operating off Hoang Sa and the Chinese captor claimed a ransom of 70,000 yuan.
The families of the detained are very anxious since they have not yet received any information about their relatives, Nguyen Thi Buoi, the wife of the boat’s owner, Tieu Viet La, said April 18.
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