On 26 May 2014, a steel-hulled Chinese fishing vessel chased down and ran over Vietnamese fishing boat DNa 90152 approximately 150 nautical miles off the coast of Vietnam, 17 nautical miles from the location of where China’s Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig is currently operating.
The 10 fishermen on board were rescued by other Vietnamese boats nearby.
According to Vietnam, the Haiyang Shiyou 981 is operating illegally inside Vietnam’s 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang commented on the incident on 27 May noting:
It is to our knowledge that yesterday afternoon, in the waters off China’s Xisha Islands, a Vietnamese fishing ship broke into the cordoned-off area of China’s drilling rig 981, and capsized after ramming into the rear port side of a Chinese fishing ship that was operating nearby.
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