The Vietnamese fishing boat, No. QNg 90617 TS, was "hindered, rammed and sunk" by the Chinese coast guard ship, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam.
When the incident happened, the Vietnamese vessel was fishing in the area belonging to Vietnam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago. The US is "seriously concerned" about the incident, said Morgan Ortagus, the U.S. Department of State's spokesperson in a statement.
This incident is the latest in a long string of China's actions to assert unlawful maritime claims and disadvantage its Southeast Asian neighbours in the sea, the spokesperson said.
The US spokesperson called on China to focus on supporting international efforts to combat the global COVID-19 pandemic, and to stop exploiting the vulnerability of other states to expand its unlawful claims in the sea.
