‘Indonesian navy shot fishermen in South China Sea’

HANOI: Indonesia’s navy shot and wounded four Vietnamese fishermen on board a fishing boat in the South China Sea at the weekend, Vietnamese authorities said.

The Vietnamese boat was about 245km south-east of Vietnam’s Con Dao island when the fishermen were shot on Saturday night, the Binh Dinh provincial search and rescue committee said on its website.

Disputes over fishing rights and oil drilling have stoked tension in the South China Sea, through which about US$5 trillion (RM21 trillion) in goods is shipped each year.

China claims almost the entire sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also have claims.

Although Indonesia says it is not a party to the dispute, it recently renamed the northern reaches of its exclusive economic zone, asserting its own maritime claim.

The coordinates given by the Vietnamese indicated that the shooting happened close to the area Indonesia now calls the North Natuna Sea.