Hanoi  - China has released 25 Vietnamese fishermen detained by Chinese coast guards in a disputed area of the South China Sea in recent weeks, Vietnamese media reported Wednesday.

Vietnamese government spokesman Le Dung said China had freed 13 crew members of a fishing boat seized by Chinese coast guards August 1, the Communist Party newspaper Nhan Dan said. The boat had approached the disputed Paracel Islands while trying to avoid Typhoon Markota.

Dung said China also freed the remaining 12 of 37 fishermen detained near the Paracels in late June for allegedly violating Chinese seasonal fishing bans in the area. The first 25 had been released earlier on the condition that they return and pay 30,000 dollars in fines to free the remaining crew members.

Vietnamese sources did not respond to queries as to whether the fines had been paid. Bui Phu Phu, a border guard official in the fishermen's home province of Quang Ngai, said it was not clear whether China had released the fishermen's boats, or only the crew members themselves.

The disputed Paracel Islands are claimed by China, Vietnam, and four other South-East Asian countries.

Tensions over sovereignty in the South China Sea have risen since a May 13 deadline for countries to submit territorial claims to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing rejected submissions by Malaysia, Vietnam and other countries as violating its own claims in the area. (dpa)