While China claims the fishermen were illegally fishing in its waters, Vietnam insists they were operating within their rights

China’s continued detention of Vietnamese fishermen serves as a warning to Hanoi against persisting with land reclamation activities in the South China Sea, analysts say, noting that while the arrest of fishermen is a common occurrence, Hanoi’s public appeals to Beijing for their release are a new development.

On October 31, Vietnam protested China’s alleged detention of its fishermen and vessels in the disputed Paracel Islands, urging Beijing to “immediately release” them, claiming they were “illegally detained”.

A foreign ministry spokesperson did not specify the number of fishermen or when the detentions occurred.

However, a Chinese think tank, the Beijing-based South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI) said in a social media post on November 1 that Vietnamese fishermen have been detained by China in the Paracel archipelago for six months, having been apprehended in April and May for illegal fishing.

In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokesperson urged Vietnam on Friday to improve its fishermen’s “education and management” to prevent them from entering China’s claimed waters.