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Avoid disputed waters, general tells Vietnam fishermen: report

Taiwan coastguard likely to boost South China Sea presence
Taiwan's coastguard said Sunday it was likely to increase its presence in a disputed South China Sea archipelago, in response to a significant rise in the number of foreign fishing boats there. Taiwan's coastguard, which has a base on Taiping, the biggest island in the Spratlys, has reported a steep rise in the number of foreign fishing vessels in the area, media reports said. "Yes, it's likely," said Shih Yi-che, a spokesman for Taiwan's coastguard, when asked if the service would send more patrol boats to the archipelago, which lies around 1,500 kilometres (937 miles) south of Taiwan. Taiwan's coastguard operates three patrol boats from Taiping, known as Ba Binh in Vietnam, where it has also built a runway for providing logistical support and humanitarian assistance. By the end of May, Taiwan's coastguard had counted more than 500 foreign vessels, mostly from China, off Taiping, more than double the number reported for the whole of 2008, media reports said. Meanwhile, Taiwan's foreign ministry reaffirmed the island's claim to the Spratlys, along with three other archipelagos in the South China Sea, which straddle important shipping lanes. "The Spratly islands are the territory of the Republic of China (Taiwan), whether from the point of view of history, geography, and international law," acting foreign ministry spokesman James Chang told AFP. Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, China, Malaysia, and the Philippines claim all or part of the potentially oil-rich Spratlys. All claimants except Brunei have troops based on the archipelago of more than 100 islets, reefs and atolls, which has a total land mass of less than five square kilometres.
by Staff Writers
 Hanoi (AFP) June 12, 2009
 Vietnam's fishermen should avoid entering "disputed areas", a senior military official was quoted as saying Friday after armed Chinese vessels reportedly intercepted Vietnamese boats.

"We are encouraging the fishermen to catch in already defined areas. They should not enter disputed sea areas," said General Le Van Dung, head of the Vietnam People's Army political department, according to the Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper.

Vietnam's foreign ministry said last Sunday that China had ordered a fishing ban in some areas of the South China Sea "including those under Vietnam's sovereignty."

It said China had increased its patrols and made more arrests in the areas, part of what it calls the East Sea.

Vietnamese fishermen have reported being intercepted by armed Chinese patrol ships, and in the central coast province of Phu Yen hundreds of vessels are now sitting idle, with their crews reluctant to leave port, even though this is peak fishing season, Thanh Nien newspaper has reported.

A long-standing dispute between Vietnam and China over sovereignty of two South China Sea archipelagos, the Spratlys and Paracels, has recently escalated.

Dung said most of the vessels recently intercepted were in the border area, which some boats lack the equipment to detect.

"Solution to the dispute must be based on diplomatic negotiation," Dung was quoted as saying.

Vietnam and China fought a brief naval battle in 1988 near one of the Spratly reefs in which more than 50 Vietnamese sailors died.

Two years ago a Chinese naval vessel fired at a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Spratlys, sinking the boat and killing one sailor, reports said.

The Spratlys and Paracels are considered strategic outposts, potentially rich in resources.

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