A Vietnamese fishing boat was attacked by unnamed aggressors in the Paracel Islands, according to state-owned media, and all 10 crewmembers aboard were injured.

The Vietnamese border guard station in the village of Binh Chau reported that a fishing vessel was “obstructed and attacked” while operating in a Vietnamese-claimed area of the Paracel Islands. China has occupied the archipelago since a brief naval battle with U.S.-backed South Vietnamese forces in 1974, but Vietnam has never abandoned its sovereignty claim.

The fishing vessel - named only with a numeral, QNg 95739 TS - departed port on September 13, bound for the Paracels (known as the Hoang Sa archipelago to the Vietnamese).

According to state outlet TPO, the crew were approached by two foreign vessels, which destroyed their fishing gear and beat the crew severely. On returning to port in Quang Ngai province, four were taken immediately to a hospital for treatment for a range of injuries.

Captain Nguyen Thanh Bien, 40, said that the 95739 was approached by a vessel with the pennant number 301 visible on the hull at about 0600 hours on September 29. At 1000, the vessel closed in from astern and lowered away two launches. A second ship, numbered 101, followed suit and lowered another.

“About 40 people climbed onto the ship, each holding an iron rod, and then attacked,” said Bien. “At this time, I tried to run towards the bow of the ship, however, two people held me and attacked me so hard that I lost consciousness. About one hour later I woke up.”

Fisherman Huynh Tien Cong, 47, told TPO that the two foreign vessels approached from astern and boarded the 95739. They used iron pipes or bars to beat the fishermen severely. “We didn’t dare to resist, we just lay there and endured the beating,” said Cong, who sustained two broken legs.

Crewmember Nguyen Thuong, 34, told the outlet that the attackers departed at about 1300 hours, and that they took the boat’s cargo of fish, its equipment and its fishing gear - everything of value except for a GPS unit. The boarding party’s interpreter told the injured crewmembers to go back to Vietnam.

Phung Ba Vuong, party chairman for the village of Binh Chau, told media that local agencies are working to verify the claim. According to TPO, many other boats from Quang Ngai province have encountered the same violent treatment at the hands of unnamed attackers in the Paracel Islands.