HANOI, Vietnam Vietnam has voiced concern over the Malaysian coast guard’s move to open fire on two Vietnamese fishing vessels that led to the death of one fisherman, and demanded Kuala Lumpur investigate the case.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said Monday that the two Vietnamese boats entered Malaysian waters late Sunday and refused to stop when approached by a coast guard vessel.
When the Malaysian vessel fired warning shots, the Vietnamese threw petrol bombs and tried to ram the vessel with their boats, leaving officials no choice but to fire at the boats in self-defense, it said in a statement on Facebook. One Vietnamese fisherman died and 18 others detained, it said.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry has expressed its concern to the Malaysian Embassy in Hanoi over the case.
Vietnam asks Malaysian to verify and investigate the case, reprimand officers who killed the Vietnamese citizen and treat other Vietnamese fishermen and their properties in a humane way,” foreign ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said in a statement late Monday.
Malaysia’s foreign ministry couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
The maritime agency has said the Vietnamese fisherman have no valid identity documents. They will be investigated for illicit entry and illicit fishing, as well as attempted murder, it said.
Since June 24, the agency said it has detained 43 foreign fishing boats for intrusion into Malaysian waters and detained 487 Vietnamese crew members.
Malaysia and Vietnam are among claimants to the South China Sea, a vital shipping lane rich with resources that is also claimed by Brunei, the Philippines, Taiwan and China.
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