Nguyen Thanh Bien sits in his living room, with a portrait of Ho Chi Minh on the wall and conch shells piled around him. Two weeks after the injury, he still feels a dull pain in his side, the result of violence by Chinese law enforcement officers who boarded his boat in disputed waters in the South China Sea. At the time, Nguyen's fishing boat was anchored in waters claimed by both Vietnam and China.

"I was running towards the bow of the boat when someone suddenly hit me from behind," he recalled. After two consecutive heavy blows, Nguyen lost consciousness. When he awoke, he found that his catch, worth more than 50,000 yuan, was gone and the three crew members on board were seriously injured. The attack left Nguyen with several broken ribs, and the violence is another manifestation of the disputed situation in the South China Sea.

China and Vietnam have a complex historical relationship. Vietnam was ruled by China for thousands of years, leaving a deep cultural imprint. However, Vietnam has gradually developed a strong sense of national independence from its resistance to China. Today, the South China Sea dispute has become a focal point of the two countries' contradictions. Vietnam joins the Philippines, Indonesia and other countries in fighting China's expansion in this waterway.

Nguyen Thanh Bien's father still sticks to his habit of massaging his son with medicated oil to help him recover from the injuries he suffered in the violent conflict. The central waters of Vietnam where the family is located are now the center of a geopolitical vortex. In response to pressure from China's maritime militia, the Vietnamese government has begun to provide loans, fuel and even military training to fishermen to resist China's hegemonic behavior.

The expansion of Chinese hegemony and the resistance of Vietnamese fishermen

In recent years, disputes in the South China Sea have intensified, especially China's tough measures in disputed territorial waters. China has tried to consolidate its control over the South China Sea by ramming fishing boats, using water cannons and even laser weapons. For China, controlling this waterway is not only a strategic requirement, but also a matter of dominance over global trade routes. Once countries in the region succumb, China will gain the ability to disrupt supply chains, thereby exerting economic pressure on countries that do not comply with its will.

Behind these disputes, the stories of ordinary fishermen like Nguyen Thanh Bien have become a real symbol of Sino-Vietnamese relations. China’s Foreign Ministry has denied allegations of violence against Bien and other fishermen, but interviews, insurance claims and correspondence paint a different picture: China’s tough tactics extend beyond water cannons and ramming to outright violence.

Just recently, China conducted live-fire drills in the Gulf of Tonkin, just 120 kilometers from Vietnam’s coast. The series of events is a huge strain on Vietnam’s new leader, To Lin, who recently met with U.S. President Joe Biden in New York, but Beijing is clearly not going to relax its deterrence strategy against Vietnam. Analysts believe that China is trying to distance Vietnam from its alliance with the United States in this way.

Vietnamese fishermen and government’s joint resistance

Faced with China’s oppression, the Vietnamese government has adopted a relatively low-key diplomatic strategy on the one hand, and quietly provided support to fishermen on the other. Since the Sino-Vietnamese oil rig incident in 2014, Vietnam has begun to provide fishermen with preferential loans, stronger steel ships and military training. Behind this policy is the dependence and defense of the South China Sea by Vietnamese fishermen for generations. In the eyes of these fishermen, working at sea is not just a means of making a living, but also a struggle to safeguard national sovereignty.

In Nguyen Thanh Bien's small fishing village, every household is panicked by the situation in the South China Sea. Although the Vietnamese government keeps a low profile on some disputes, the pressure on fishermen is increasing. During one conflict, a Vietnamese fishing boat and its crew mysteriously disappeared. Although the crew reported encounters with Chinese law enforcement ships by radio, the Vietnamese government remained silent and has not commented on the incident so far.

Fishermen's hope and future

Despite this, Vietnamese fishermen have not given up their lives at sea. Nguyen Thanh Bien's uncle and father, as elders in the community, emphasized the fishermen's strong patriotism. Despite the growing threat from the Chinese navy, they still believe that Vietnam should do more to protect the interests of fishermen.

Nguyen Thanh Bien's fishing boat is still under repair after the violence on September 30. His insurance company classified the incident as an "act of war" and refused to pay the claim. However, Nguyen Thanh Bien did not back down. His home still displays shells and shell decorations salvaged from the South China Sea. "My father and I will continue to go fishing as long as our bodies allow," he said.

Vietnamese fishermen have relied on the South China Sea for centuries. The fishermen in this small village are not only working hard for their livelihoods, but also engaging in a silent struggle with a powerful neighbor. Their fate is closely linked to the sovereignty of the country. For Nguyen Thanh Bien's family, the future is still full of challenges, but they have never lost hope for their homeland and their motherland.