According to a representative from the Viet Nam Fisheries Surveillance Department (VFSD), when the Vietnamese vessels approached the rig at a distance of 7-9 nautical miles, China deployed its forces, including coast guard ships and tugboats, to aggressively prevent them.
Chinese ships were ready to sound their horns, ram against Viet Nam's law enforcement vessels and fire at them with high-pressure water cannons.
However, the Vietnamese forces patiently persisted in their struggle and continued to make their demands of China.
On the day, the Chinese side maintained up to 40 coast guard vessels, 14 transport ships, 20 tugboats, 47 fishing vessels and four warships at the site.
China intensified its reconnaissance activities with a larger number of aircraft. The Vietnamese fisheries surveillance force saw five jet fighters flying around the area where the oil rig is illegally standing.
The VFSD representative further said that about 50 Vietnamese fishing boats conducted catching activities and opposed China’s illegal rig placement at the area south of Tri Ton Island in Viet Nam Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, 20-25 nautical miles from the rig./.
By Ngoc Van