Vietnam’s Largest Newspaper Offers Details & Photos: “China Uses Vessels, Fighter Jet to Bully Vietnam in Oil Rig Tension”
Thanks to Scott Harold of RAND for calling this officially-connected Vietnamese news source to my attention. This does not look like a “harmonious oceans” or “peaceful development” approach to me. I would appreciate it if readers could offer further assessments and information, including corresponding Chinese photos and detailed explanations for the events in question.
“China Uses Vessels, Fighter Jet to Bully Vietnam in Oil Rig Tension,” Tuổi Trẻ News, 16 May 2014.
TUOI TRE
UPDATED : 05/16/2014 17:55 GMT + 7
A photo collection by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper’s two on-site journalists shows Chinese vessels and a fighter jet chasing, intimidating, and firing water cannons at Vietnamese ships around Beijing’s illegal oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 illegally placed in Vietnamese waters in the East Vietnam Sea.
The following pictures were filed on Friday from the area near the drilling platform where the journalists have been reporting since May 11.
The bullying incidents took place between May 12 and 15, according to the journalists.
The rig has been placed at 15°29’58’’ North latitude and 111°12’06’’ East longitude in the East Vietnam Sea, which lies well within the Southeast Asian country’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, from May 1.
Chinese ships, dispatched to guard the rig, have intentionally crashed into Vietnamese vessels ever since the latter were deployed on that date to persuade the Chinese side to take the platform out of Vietnam’s seas.
A Chinese ship equipped with high-volume water cannons to attack Vietnamese ships is seen near Beijing’s illicit oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnamese waters. Photo taken May 12, 2014.
A China Coast Guard vessel (in the foreground) fires water cannons at a Vietnamese fisheries surveillance ship near Beijing’s illegal oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 positioned in Vietnamese waters. Photo taken May 12, 2014.
A Chinese fighter jet is pictured flying above Beijing’s illegal oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnamese waters. Photo taken May 12, 2014.
China Coast Guard vessel #37102 is seen chasing a Vietnamese fisheries surveillance ship near Beijing’s illegal oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnamese waters. Photo taken May 12, 2014.
A China Coast Guard vessel is pictured moving near Beijing’s illegal oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnamese waters. Photo taken May 12, 2014.
Dozens of Chinese vessels are divided into many layers to make a shield, aimed at preventing Vietnamese ships from approaching Beijing’s illegal oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnamese waters. Photo taken May 14, 2014.
A picture of Beijing’s illegal oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnamese waters. Photo taken May 12, 2014.
A cannon ready for firing is seen on board a China Coast Guard ship near Beijing’s illegal oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnamese waters. Photo taken May 12, 2014.
Fisheries surveillance ship KN767 is among many Vietnamese ships damaged by Chinese vessels’ ramming. Photo taken May 13, 2014.
A Vietnamese fisheries surveillance ship hangs a banner in Chinese that reads, “This is Vietnam’s sea area, you are required to stop your violations and get out of Vietnam,” near Beijing’s oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 illegitimately placed in Vietnamese waters. Photo taken May 15, 2014.
