Personnel from the China Maritime Safety Administration board and attack the crew of the Vietnamese fishing vessel QNg 95739 TS. Screenshot of a Maritime Safety Administration video released by SCSPI on Sept. 29, 2024. 

The US Naval Institute News Service reports an incident in which personnel of the China Maritime Safety Agency boarded a Vietnamese fishing vessel. The boarding was resisted by the Vietnamese fishermen (see the video below) and when the Chinese agents came aboard, they severely beat the fishermen with metal rods.

This is just another example of the Chinese attempting to intimidate their perceived enemies by using brutal, but usually less than deadly force. There have been conflicts with India and the Philippines at similar levels of violence. Chinese fishermen have also responded with similar levels of violence when being boarded by South Korean Coast Guard.

I am surprised this was done by the China Maritime Safety Agency rather than by the China Coast Guard. This may reflect an attempt by the Maritime Safety Agency to enhance its status in the Chinese government, perhaps even an effort to prove its continued relevance.

Where this happened is not stated. Presumably it was inside China’s self-declared Nine Dash Line, but outside China’s internationally recognized Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and probably within Vietnam’s EEZ.