Chinese ships ram Vietnamese vessels and fire water cannon injuring sailors in maritime clash over new oil rig that Hanoi says is in its territorial waters

Officials in Hanoi say several boats have been damaged and six sailors hurt

Vietnam is trying to stop China placing an oil rig 140 miles of its coast

Both countries claim the area as their own territorial waters



Chinese ships are ramming Vietnamese vessels and spraying sailors with water cannons in a clash over plans to drill for oil in disputed waters.

Several boats have been damaged and six people on one vessel have been injured, said officials in Hanoi, with neither side showing any signs of backing down.

Vietnamese vessels are trying to stop China placing a $1billion oil rig off their country's coast. The say they want a peaceful solution, but a top official warned 'all restraint has a limit'.

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In this photo released by Vietnam Coast Guard, a Chinese ship, left, shoots water cannon at a Vietnamese vessel, right, as a Chinese Coast Guard ship, centre, sails alongside in the South China Sea, off Vietnam's coast

The clash has been continuing for several days since a Chinese flotilla of military and civilian ships moved into the disputed area of the South China Sea on May 1.

Vietnam promptly dispatched marine police and fishery protection vessels to the area but they were harassed as they approached, said Ngo Ngoc Thu, vice commander of Vietnam's coast guard.

He said Vietnam had not carried out any offensive actions of its own in waters close to the rig, which is around 140 miles off the Vietnamese coast.

'Our maritime police and fishing protection forces have practiced extreme restraint, we will continue to hold on there,' said commander Ngo.

'But if (the Chinese ships) continue to ram into us, we will respond with similar self-defense.'

He showed video at a news conference of Chinese ships ramming into Vietnamese ones and firing at them with high-powered water cannons. Attacks had occurred repeatedly over the past three days, he said.

Vietnam has sent no naval vessels to the area, despite the presence of Chinese navy warships, but the standoff raises the possibility that more serious clashes could yet break out.

'All restraint has a limit': Coast Guard Deputy Commander Ngo Ngoc Thu speaks during a press conference today on the clash off Vietnam's coast

'No shots have been fired yet,' said a Vietnamese navy official, who could not be identified because he was not authorised to speak to media. 'Vietnam won't fire unless China fires first.'

Another Vietnamese official, who also preferred to remain anonymous, said that Vietnam's ships were outnumbered by the Chinese flotilla. He said the ships were trying to stop the rig from 'establishing a fixed position'.

Western analysts have called China's stationing of the oil rig one of its most provocative steps yet in a gradual campaign of asserting its sovereignty in the South China Sea. China claims almost the entire sea, rejecting rival claims from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying insists the rig, owned by Chinese state-run oil company CNOOC, is in China's territorial waters and therefore drilling is 'normal and legal.'

'The disruptive activities by the Vietnamese side are in violation of China's sovereign rights,' she said. China had previously said no foreign ships would be allowed within three miles of the rig.

In a strongly worded statement in Washington on Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called China's action 'provocative and unhelpful to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region.'

Asked about the U.S. statement, Ms Hua hit back. 'we want to tell the U.S. that the U.S. has no right to make irresponsible and unwarranted remarks on China's sovereign rights,' she said.

Vietnam has limited leverage in dealing with its giant neighbour and vital economic partner.

While it is no longer as isolated as it once was, as once of the world's last few Communist countries it can't expect much diplomatic help from powerful friends.

It appears likely to try to rally regional support against China's actions.

Vigilant; A Vietnamese naval soldier stands quard at Thuyen Chai island in the Spratly archipelago, where Vietnam has previously fought off oil rigs placed by a U.S. company working in collusion with China

Jonathan London, a Vietnam expert at the City University of Hong Kong, said the country had basically found itself caught between a rock and a hard place.

'China seems intent on putting down its footprint squarely in contested waters and force Hanoi's hand,' he said. 'It appears a critical juncture has occurred and one would expect Hanoi to be weighing its options.

'Hanoi's back is against the wall, though China's policies - which according to virtually everyone except China are baseless legally - have brought about this situation.'

China occupied the Paracel Islands 40 years ago, and 74 soldiers from the then U.S.-backed South Vietnamese Army died trying to take them back.

The Vietnamese and Chinese navies clashed again in 1988 in the disputed Spratly Islands, leaving 64 Vietnamese sailors dead.

In 1992, China awarded a contract to U.S. energy company Crestone to explore for oil and gas in the Spratly Islands.