Vietnamese airwaves interrupted by Chinese radio broadcasts

Unidentified Chinese waves have been disrupting an FM transmission radio station in Vietnam’s coastal city of Da Nang since May 21 this year, Pham Thanh Liem, head of Da Nang’s Ngu Hanh Son District Radio Station, told VnExpress on Monday.

“The radio station in Khue My Ward [Ngu Hanh Son] has unexpectedly broadcast in Chinese for about 5-7 seconds on a number of occasions. We do not understand Chinese so we do not know the content of the broadcasts,” Liem said.

During the Vietnam War, the loudspeakers aired crucial warnings about air raids. Today, they still exist to provide local people with news, songs and information at dawn and at dusk.

Several locals in Ngu Hanh Son also said on their Facebook pages that they have heard Chinese from the loudspeakers many times.

According to Liem, there are five radios in the district. One is operated by the district government and the other four by ward authorities. Each of them has been granted their own frequency by the Authority of Radio Frequency Management in Zone 3.

The frequency in Khue My is 97.5 MHZ with 24 wireless FM transmission stations. These stations need electricity to operate.

“The Chinese radio waves along the coast are very strong with many frequencies. They probably transmit them from far out at sea but only the Authority of Radio Frequency Management will know where they are coming from,” Liem said. He denied rumors that radio stations have been installed in coastal resorts managed by Chinese people.

The Authority of Radio Frenquency Management is under the management of Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications.

Ngu Hanh Son District Radio Station has already briefed the Authority of Radio Frequency Management, but only reported the matter to the local government on Monday morning, according to Liem.

The Ngu Hanh Son District Radio Station unplugged its FM transmission station on top of a local house near Nuoc Man Military Airport on Sunday. The district plans to send the equipment to Hanoi to upgrade its capacity and coding system, but that will take nearly a month, Liem added.

Da Nang authorities previously said they will look into claims that Chinese nationals are purchasing multiple land lots very close to Nuoc Man Military Airport in Ngu Hanh Son.

Local people have expressed concerns that hotels and other high buildings near Nuoc Man, which are managed by Chinese people, will seriously affect operations at the military airport. The airport oversees the East Sea, internationally known as South China Sea.

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