- Xinhua: Vietnamese fishing boat sank after colliding with Chinese vessel off Paracel Islands
- Beijing has been drilling for oil near the island chain in the South China Sea both nations claim
- Vietnamese coast guard officials say the fishing boat was rammed amid rising tensions
- All 10 crew aboard the fishing boat were rescued by nearby vessels
(CNN) — A Vietnamese fishing boat has sunk after colliding with a Chinese vessel near an island chain in the South China Sea at the center of a territorial dispute between the two Communist neighbors.
According to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, the Vietnamese vessel had been “harassing” a Chinese fishing boat at 5 p.m. local time on Monday in waters near the Paracel Islands, a largely uninhabited archipelago also known by the Chinese as the Xisha Islands.
However, Luu Tien Thang, a senior officer aboard a Vietnamese coast guard boat patrolling waters nearby, told CNN Tuesday the Vietnamese vessel reported that it had actually been rammed by the Chinese ship during a distress call.
While the Chinese vessel was purportedly a fishing boat, Luu said there were “usually Chinese military boats in the area with the fishing fleet.”
Other Vietnamese fishing boats and coast guard ships picked up the 10 crew members aboard the Vietnamese vessel, Luu added.
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Relations between China and Vietnam have soured in recent weeks after a state-owned Chinese oil company began drilling for oil some 17 nautical miles off the Paracels. Vietnamese officials say Chinese military and civilian ships have been harassing their vessels around the islands — which are controlled by Beijing but claimed by Hanoi — even accusing the Chinese of repeatedly ramming into them and shooting water cannon.
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