Asia-Pacific News
Vietnam unable to contact fishermen reportedly released by China
Oct 14, 2010, 5:54 GMT
Hanoi - Vietnamese authorities have failed to contact nine fishermen five days after China said it had released them, authorities said Thursday.
'We have used all our means to try to contact them, but failed so far,' said Colonel Bui Phu Phu, deputy chief of Vietnam's coast guard in the fishermen's home province of Quang Ngai.
China detained the fishermen on September 11 for fishing in disputed waters, but said it released them on October 9 from Woody Island, the largest of the Paracels.
Lieutenant General Tran Quang Khue, deputy chief of the general staff of Vietnam's People's Army, said China had put the men's lives in danger by letting them sail off without handing them over to Vietnamese authorities, the Tuoi Tre daily reported.
Vietnam, China, and four other nations dispute the sovereignty of the Spratly and the Paracel Islands and the surrounding waters, which are believed to be rich in undersea mineral resources.
In the past year, China has seized or detained hundreds of Vietnamese fishing boats in disputed waters.
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