HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken measures to protect Vietnamese citizens in the Philippines after receiving reports that the Philippine coast guard force fired at fishing vessel PY 96173 TS of Phú Yên Province, killing two and seizing a number of other fishermen. 

Immediately after receiving the report, the ministry instructed the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines to contact the departments of Foreign Affairs and National Defence of the Philippines to verify the information and take appropriate measures to protect the citizens. 

The Philippine side responded that the PY 96173 TS illegally conducted fishing in Bolinao waters off Pangasinan province from 20:30pm on September 22 to 1:00am on September 23.

When being chased by Philippine coast guard force, the ship intentionally attacked the coast guard’s ship PS 19. The Philippine coast guard force fired at the PY 96173 TS when the ship intended to hit the bow of the PS 19. 

On September 24, during a meeting with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on the sidelines of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh voiced protest against the use of violence against fishermen and requested that the Philippines quickly investigates the case. 

In the afternoon of September 24, the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines sent representatives to make a consular visit to the detained fishermen and sought more information on the case. 

The foreign ministry also directed the embassy to continue protesting to relevant Philippine agencies against the use of force against fishermen in any form and requesting humanitarian treatment for Vietnamese fishermen under arrest.

The embassy will continue to urge the Philippines to conduct thorough investigation into the case and early inform Việt Nam on the official outcomes, as well as to mete out due punishment on any detected wrongdoings on the side of the Philippine force. — VNS