A fisherman from Quang Ngai Province, who was attacked and robbed by Chinese ships near Hoang Sa Island four times, vowed to return to the sea after repairing his ships.

The ship owner, Duong Van Giau, a resident of Dong Village in Ly Son District, said he and 11 other fishermen sailed to Hoang Sa Island on April 23. While they were searching for sea cucumbers on May 7, near Colin Island, they had an altercation with a Chinese ship. He said, "They didn't use water cannons. They just jumped onto our ship and used tasers and iron bars to beat us and then take our equipment."

Another sailor, Bui Ngoc Lai, said that about dozen Chinese boarded his ship and threw most of their rice overboard, only leaving them enough food for a few days. According to Giau, their ship was simply afloat on the sea for two days before they met another ship from Ly Son. However, Giau did not go home immediately. He borrowed equipment from the friendly vessel and continued fishing.

"Even though we lost everything, we continued after our friends lent us some food," another sailor said.

Despite having been robbed, Giau said he would return to Hoang Sa Island. "I am not afraid to go near the oil rig. What can they do to me?" he said. This, however, is the fourth time Giau has clashed with Chinese ships during his expeditions. Last year his ship was fired upon by water cannons and chased away by Chinese ships.

At Ly Son, dozens of fishing ships are ready for their expeditions. Bui Dai, the owner of another ship, said in early March, Chinese ships chased him broadsided his vessel and stole all their equipment. He suffered a losses of VND250 million (USD12,000), but when he returned, Dai bought new equipment for the coming trips.

"This aggressive behaviour from China only make us more determined to protect our seas," said Nguyen Quoc Chinh, head of the An Hai communal Fisheries Trade Union. Chinh warned the fishermen about Chinese ships and encouraged them to travel in groups for protection.

According to fishermen in Ly Son, hundreds of Chinese fishing ships, reinforced with metal, have started to exploit Vietnamese seas and cause troubles for local ships.