China has sent 83 ships to ram Vietnamese vessels within the exclusive economic zone in the East Sea after setting up an oil rig there, and to date, has showed no sign it intends to withdraw.

A Chinese ship sprays water cannons at a smaller Vietnamese

According to one source, satellite photos were taken of two Chinese naval ships it the area of the oil rig.

The source also said that on May 8, representatives of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with the Chinese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs make official protest to the Chinese violations and request that China move the oil rig from Vietnamese waters. However, the meeting ended with no agreement, leaving a tense situation.

At a press conference in Hanoi on May 9, Nguyen Van Trung, Deputy Head of the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Directorate of Fisheries, said that the number of Chinese ships may be on the increase, and the number of Vietnamese ships also varies depending on the situation.

Trung added that six Vietnamese fishermen who were injured in a collision with Chinese ships have recovered and returned to work.

At a press briefing on Thursday afternoon, Yi Xianliang, the Chinese Deputy Director General of the Foreign Ministry's Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs, said that, "In the five-day period from May 3 to May 7, Vietnam dispatched 35 vessels of various kinds which rammed Chinese ships as many as 171 times”.

However, speaking with reporters on the same day, Major General Nguyen Quang Dam, Commander of the Vietnam Coast Guard, denied the Chinese accusation, saying that it was a complete fabrication by the Chinese.