HANOI—Vietnam said Thursday that a Vietnamese fishing boat has gone missing after China said it released the vessel that was seized in disputed South China Sea waters more than a month ago.
Minister of Defense Phung Quang Thanh had announced the release Tuesday on the sidelines of a regional defense ministers' meeting where the South China Sea was a key issue.
Vietnam had said the boat and its nine crew were captured while fishing in the Paracels, a South China Sea archipelago claimed by China and Vietnam.
Vietnam and China are engaged in a long-running dispute over control of the Paracels and a more southerly archipelago, the Spratlys.
The vessel left a Chinese port Monday and under normal circumstances should have reached home by Wednesday at the latest, foreign ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said, adding that China said it would arrange a search.
Since last year Vietnam has reported numerous cases of fishing boats and equipment being seized by China but Nga said she believes it is the first time fishermen have been lost after their release.
Taiwan also claims the Paracels and has a claim to the Spratlys, as do ASEAN members the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned at the regional talks that territorial disputes in Asia-Pacific waters posed a threat to regional stability, but his Chinese counterpart insisted Beijing's growing military might was purely defensive.
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