Vietnam protests to China over South China Sea boat sinking

FILE PHOTO: A man raises a Chinese flag (R) next to a Vietnamese flag before a meeting between China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh at the Government Office in Hanoi, Vietnam November 2, 2017. REUTERS/Kham

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam has lodged an official protest with China following the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat which was being chased by a Chinese maritime surveillance vessel in the disputed South China Sea, Vietnam said late on Thursday.

Vietnam and China have for years long been embroiled in a dispute over the potentially energy-rich stretch of waters, called the East Sea by Vietnam.