Vietnam fishermen caught in South China Sea tensions

After 16 days at sea, captain Nguyen Thanh Bien and his crew returned to Sa Ky Port in Vietnam's Quang Ngai province with no fish — only injuries and trauma, allegedly inflicted by China linked "maritime security" forces.

He described the crew's ordeal as a violent attack by 40 men armed with metal rods, leaving him unconscious.

"The translator then told us to steer the boat towards Vietnam. They left us nothing but a tracker so we could return to shore," Thuong, another injured fisherman said. 

According to the South China Sea Chronicle Initiative (SCSCI), a Vietnamese think tank, another Vietnamese fishing boat was attacked the same afternoon, and lost all of its equipment and around 3.5 tons of fish. 

High-seas confrontations are common in the South China Sea, where 30% of world trade is transportedImage: South China Sea Probing Initiative

Diplomatic responses to attacks

Vietnam and the Philippines condemned the attacks, calling for protection of fishermen's rights.

"Vietnam is extremely concerned, indignant and resolutely protests the brutal treatment by Chinese law enforcement forces of Vietnamese fishermen and fishing boats operating in the Paracel Islands of Vietnam," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said in a statement.

The Philippines promptly "condemned the violent and illegal actions of Chinese maritime authorities" and described it as an "unjustified assault" in a statement.

Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano affirmed that, "fishermen, as vulnerable maritime workers, deserve protection — not harm — at sea."

At the end of October, in a press conference, Vietnam requested that China"release all illegally captured fishermen and vessels" who were believed to have been detained since June. 

According to Reuters news agency, China reaffirmed its maritime claims, and called on Hanoi to "raise the awareness of its fishermen and make sure they will not engage in illegal activities in waters under China's jurisdiction," said Lin Jian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson. 

China claims nearly the entirety of the South China Sea as its territory, despite a 2016 ruling rejecting these claims. 

China's strategy

"These attacks reflect China's broader strategy to coerce other claimant states into submission and assert its dominance in the South China Sea," Nguyen Khac Giang, a researcher from the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, told DW.

The attacks targeting Vietnamese fishermen are also intended as a message to other claimant states, Nguyen Khac Giang added.

"For the Philippines, China is testing the strength and limits of the Philippines-US alliance," said Nguyen.

For Vietnam, these incidents serve as a reminder that, despite improved relations between the two Communist nations, Beijing remains willing to use aggressive tactics.

"Domestic issues such as socioeconomic problems facing China may drive assertiveness at sea as a means of diverting public attention from internal challenges," Van Pham, founding Director of Vietnam's SCSCI, told DW.

SCSCI also noted that there is no evidence of China Coast Guard's involvement in these specific attacks. 

"This seems to be a new grey zone tactic in which brutal and inhumane actions are executed by local forces, allowing the central authority to disclaim responsibility," claimed SCSCI.

What do we know about South China Sea disputes?

The backdrop of the violent attacks against fishermen is the unresolved conflict in the South China Sea, one of the world's most important trade routes.

The conflict has two dimensions, as the analyst Bill Hayton explained.

First, there is a dispute about who is the rightful owner of the islands, rocks and reefs within the South China Sea and second, it is a dispute about what countries can do in the spaces between those features. 

China's claims are the most extensive as it demands almost the entire sea with the so-called nine-dash line, a framework that Beijing employs to claim possession of almost all of the South China Sea.

The conflict is fierce as the South China Sea serves as a key fishing ground for coastal states.

As a result, claimant states often clash in these areas, with fishermen caught in the middle. They are often used to support territorial claims and assert national sovreignty, but they are also targeted by competitors trying to push them out of contested waters that they claim. 

Diplomatic collaboration for fishermen's protection

To protect the fishermen, Giang and Van told DW that multilateral cooperation plays an essential role.

"First, ASEAN claimant states need to strengthen diplomatic engagement and expedite negotiations for the Code of Conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea to establish clear rules and ensure accountability. Second, joint patrols and cooperative fisheries management could help mitigate potential conflicts," said Giang. 

In addition, he suggested establishing an emergency communication channel with Chinese authorities and highlighted the Philippines' '"transparency initiative" as an "excellent move" to raise global awareness of maritime incidents.

Van also highlighted the Manila Dialogue, a recent public forum on the South China Sea, as a "promising model" in promoting collaboration among different sectors and stakeholders. 

Vietnam, on the other hand, needs more "concrete actions" which "carry greater weight" than "strong verbal statements," said Van, adding that Vietnam's prolonged silence on the case of fishermen detained in Hainan Island since June sends a discouraging message to its fishing community.

Edited by: Keith Walker