26 May 2014
Last updated at 23:33 ET
Chinese and Vietnamese coast guard ships are patrolling near the Haiyang Shiyou oil rig, seen to the rear
According to Vietnam's coast guard, the boat was encircled by
40 Chinese vessels before it was attacked. All 10 fishermen on board
were rescued.
There was no immediate comment from China on the incident.
The two are locked in an intensifying dispute over South China Sea territory.
Vietnam has protested against China moving its Haiyang Shiyou 981 rig to waters also claimed by Hanoi, at a spot near the disputed Paracel Islands.
Both sides have ships engaged in a stand-off in the area and there have been several reported collisions.
Tuesday's incident happened just 17 nautical miles from the rig, Vietnamese reports said.
China's refusal to move the rig sparked anti-China protests in Vietnam earlier in May, which left at least two people dead and several factories burnt.
Vietnamese legislators are preparing to sue China in an international court over the rig and other attacks on Vietnamese ships, according to local media.
The Chinese government has not yet commented on the latest South China Sea confrontation.
But state news agency Xinhua on Monday published a commentary in English which accused Vietnam of wanting to "disturb and play up the normal drilling of Haiyang Shiyou 981".
Written by Chinese law professor Yang Zewei, the commentary states: "Hanoi should know that such drilling in the said area is China's sovereign right endowed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea."
"Vietnam should immediately stop any interruptive activities and undertake corresponding consequences and international responsibilities for its provocations.".
Japan has urged calm. Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga was reported by agencies as saying: "It's important that relevant countries abstain from unilateral actions that raise tensions and that the countries act cool-headedly, observing international laws."
Meanwhile, Vietnam is preparing to prosecute "hundreds of suspects" involved in the riots earlier in May, and has already jailed two participants, according to local media.
China has for decades claimed a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea.
But tensions have flared up in the region recently as China seeks to assert its claims in a more muscular fashion with a beefed-up maritime presence.
Its actions have upset several neighbouring countries, including the Philippines - which is taking China to a United Nations tribunal.
China ship 'rams Vietnam fishing boat' in South China Sea
Chinese and Vietnamese coast guard ships are patrolling near the Haiyang Shiyou oil rig, seen to the rear
A
Chinese ship rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near a
controversial oil rig in the South China Sea, Vietnamese officials say,
amid tensions between the two nations.
There was no immediate comment from China on the incident.
The two are locked in an intensifying dispute over South China Sea territory.
Vietnam has protested against China moving its Haiyang Shiyou 981 rig to waters also claimed by Hanoi, at a spot near the disputed Paracel Islands.
Both sides have ships engaged in a stand-off in the area and there have been several reported collisions.
Tuesday's incident happened just 17 nautical miles from the rig, Vietnamese reports said.
China's refusal to move the rig sparked anti-China protests in Vietnam earlier in May, which left at least two people dead and several factories burnt.
Vietnamese legislators are preparing to sue China in an international court over the rig and other attacks on Vietnamese ships, according to local media.
The Chinese government has not yet commented on the latest South China Sea confrontation.
Written by Chinese law professor Yang Zewei, the commentary states: "Hanoi should know that such drilling in the said area is China's sovereign right endowed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea."
"Vietnam should immediately stop any interruptive activities and undertake corresponding consequences and international responsibilities for its provocations.".
Japan has urged calm. Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga was reported by agencies as saying: "It's important that relevant countries abstain from unilateral actions that raise tensions and that the countries act cool-headedly, observing international laws."
Meanwhile, Vietnam is preparing to prosecute "hundreds of suspects" involved in the riots earlier in May, and has already jailed two participants, according to local media.
China has for decades claimed a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea.
But tensions have flared up in the region recently as China seeks to assert its claims in a more muscular fashion with a beefed-up maritime presence.
Its actions have upset several neighbouring countries, including the Philippines - which is taking China to a United Nations tribunal.
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