Vietnam, known to be among the most vocal critics on China’s territorial claims, continues to denounce the dispute over the South China Sea with a history of violent clashes since 1974. In recent years, the fierce standoffs continue between the two countries over fishery, oil and gas reserves which had prompted massive riots in Hanoi 2 years ago which were followed by collisions between Vietnamese and Chinese ships. Local media reported 4000 boats had run into accidents involving foreign boats over the past 2 years while thousands of Vietnamese fishermen claim their fishing boats have been rammed and sank by the Chinese. As Vietnamese fishermen persist in carrying out their fishing operations, their main defense for them is to join forces at sea to ensure safety while replacing the old boats with new ones which are bigger and more powerful with help from government loans to upgrade their boats.

Fishing Fleet Finds Shore 2016
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August 29, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. A worker walks pass the remains of DNa 90152, the boat that was rammed by a Chinese vessel in late May 2014.
August 29, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. Landscape of a shipyard lies next to Thuan Phuoc river port.
August 29, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. Workers weld a fishing boat metal piece in a ship yard near Thuan Phuoc river.
August 29, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. Wood workers build a new fishing boat at a shipyard near Thuan Phuoc river port.
August 29, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. Wood workers build a new fishing boat at a shipyard near Thuan Phuoc river port.
August 30, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. A worker takes off his glasses as he start welding a steel boat at Thuan Phuoc river port. The Vietnam goverment is giving out ten thousand billion loans to help local fisherman switching from wooden to steel-clad vessels to develop off-shore fishing.
August 30, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. Nguyen Cho, a 47-year-old boat captain supervise his workers from the cockpit. He said ‘We used to work peacefully with foreign boats out in the sea and helped out each other anytime someone got into problems. Now because of the conflict, we can't even take shelter on the disputed islands during a storm.’
August 30, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. Local fisherman prepare their boat at Thuan Phuoc river port in prior to the next fishing trip.
August 29, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. At a shipyard on Thuan Phuoc river port.
August 30, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. Fisherman clean up their vessel after finish loading fish into Tho Quang fishing port. This steel-clad vessel was loaned by the government in order to develop off-shore fishing.
August 30, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. A captain's moment of relax while his workers loading fish into Tho Quang fishing port.
August 31, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. A fish trader waits for the boat to arrive at Tho Quang port.
August 31, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. Workers unload fish from the boat storage before transporting to Tho Quang fish market.
August 30, 2016. Danang, Vietnam. Captain Nguyen Cho hangs out on his boat at Tho Quang port after returning from a fishing trip.