Boat detentions spark South China Sea dispute

ASEAN and national flags of the ten ASEAN members are erected outside a Hanoi hotel where the 34th meeting of its Foreign Ministers is taking place

HANOI, Vietnam -- Debate over the sovereignty of the hotly disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea has flared again with the apprehension of hundreds of Vietnamese fishing boats.

The detention of the fishing fleets by "foreign boats" comes ahead of a meeting in Hanoi of foreign ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the region's key security grouping, the ASEAN Regional Forum.

Analysts see the Spratlys as one of the region's most serious security concerns and will likely be discussed as part of the meeting's agenda or on the sidelines.

The Spratlys are a collection of about 200 islets and reefs and shoals that straddle vital sea lanes and are thought to sit atop big oil and gas reserves and are claimed wholly or in part by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

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According to official media, a province of central Vietnam is seeking the return of more than 200 fishermen and 17 fishing boats seized by foreign vessels around the Spratly and Paracel Islands.

The Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper on Saturday quoted authorities in Quang Ngai province as saying the Vietnamese vessels and fishermen had been seized by "foreign boats".

It said the province had proposed that the government and Foreign Ministry intervene to resolve the issue.

Code of conduct

Thanh Nien said since the beginning of the year, at least three fishing boats from Ly Son Island had been detained by Singaporean and Malaysian boats or ships, but did not say where.

It said the crews had their fishing equipment confiscated and were forced to pay fines of 90-100 billion dong ($6,000-$6,700) for the release of each vessel.

Malaysia said last week the meetings in Hanoi were not the right forum in which to settle the disputed claims.

China will participate in the meetings, along with the other claimants to the disputed territory, with the exception of Taiwan.

Vietnam's Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien saids last week there was still division over a regional code of conduct for the South China Sea and more discussions were needed.

Reuters contributed to this report.