Central Vietnamese fishermen have the right to fish in their country’s territorial waters, including those around the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa Islands, and the government should protect that right from encroaching Chinese patrol ships that try to block our fishermen.
On April 28, 23 fishermen from the central province of Quang Ngai joined their families after more than a month of detention in which their families were given no information by the Chinese abductors that jailed them on the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands.
The fishermen had been detained in two different cases, one involved a boat owned by Tieu Viet La and one involved a vessel owned by Mai Phung Luu.
But the Chinese only returned Luu’s boat. They kept La’s boat and all fishing equipment aboard, worth more than VND500 million (US$26,371) in total.
In nearly five years, La has been apprehended by Chinese patrols four times and has lost two boats plus equipment. That would be more than a billion dong, much more than his life savings.
For the moment, La dares not borrow more money to start the business again as he is already in serious debt due to the previous incidents.
Nguyen Chi Thanh, 26, a local resident in Quang Ngai lost his boat to the Chinese, in June last year. Thanh had spent hundreds of millions of dongs buying the boat and had used it only a few times.
He has been jobless since and his children are on the verge of dropping out of school.
Many years back, coastal residents in the central region invested in big boats so that they could sail further, stay offshore longer and catch more fish.
Some fishermen became billionaires, owning 5-7 boats. They also helped develop businesses on the mainland and raised the living standards of the whole region.
But those days are long gone.
The fishermen are now worried every time they approach Hoang Sa Islands.
They are attacked. They are caught. They are robbed.
It’s ironic as the waters have been familiar to them and their families for generations. It’s been proved, by historical documents and other evidence, that the islands belonged to them and their country.
The fishermen need more protection from the government, and they need financial support to set sail again after the Chinese banditry.
To sail and fish on the waters of their country is a totally legitimate aspiration. And if the government can help them live and get rich off the islands, they will help the government protect Vietnam’s sovereignty.
