China - Vietnamese Fishermen Detained - NYTimes.com China has detained 21 Vietnamese fishermen in the South China Sea, according to reports on Thursday that cited Vietnamese officials. An official from Quang Ngai Province, where the fishermen are from, told The Associated Press that they were detained on March 3 near the Paracel Islands, which are controlled by China's military. Vietnam claims sovereignty over the islands, whose territory it once shared with China. The Vietnamese official said China was demanding $11,000 for the release of the fishermen. Tensions over the territorial disputes in the South China Sea have been rising in recent years.