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The Vietnam Fisheries Association on September 26 has sent the Office of the Government, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Party Central Committee’s Commission of Foreign Affairs its official statement in opposition to the Philippine maritime law enforcement force who shot at a Vietnamese fishing boat and killed two Vietnamese fishermen.
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| A Vietnamese fishing boat. Photo for illustration. |
According to Chairman of the Vietnam Fisheries Association Nguyen Viet Thang, citing the dispatch of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Phu Yen province, at 13.30 on September 23, the Phu Yen Provincial Border Guard Command received an emergency call from Mr. Huynh Tan Tuyen, residing in Hoa Hiep Trung town, Dong Hoa district, Phu Yen province.
On the phone, fisherman Tuyen told that fishing boat PY-96173-TS, owned by Pham To (residing in Phu Dong ward, Tuy Hoa city, Phu Yen province) was chased and shot by a Philippine coast guard ship (numbered 19), and killed two fishermen on board: Le Van Reo, 40 and Pham Ngoc Liem, 40. The Philippine vessel then towed the Vietnamese fishing trawler to the Philippines.
"The Vietnamese Fisheries Association strongly opposes the Philippine armed force’s killing of two Vietnamese fishermen, and demand that the Philippines soon return the remains of the two dead fishermen to their families and humanitarianly treat detained Vietnamese fishermen," the Vietnamese Fisheries Association stated.
The association also urged the Vietnamese authorities to ask the Philippines to immediately stop killing Vietnamese fishermen operating at sea and to take serious action against the misconduct of the Philippine coast guard ship.
| The Foreign Ministry has taken measures to protect Vietnamese citizens in the Philippines after receiving reports that the Philippine coast guard force fired at fishing vessel PY 96173 TS of Phu Yen province, killing two and seizing a number of other fishermen. Immediately after receiving the report, the ministry instructed the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines to contact the Departments of Foreign Affairs and National Defence of the Philippines to verify the information and take appropriate measures to protect the citizens. The Foreign Ministry also directed the Embassy to continue protesting to relevant Philippine agencies against the use of force against fishermen in any form and requesting humanitarian treatment for Vietnamese fishermen under arrest. |
