The May 11, 2011 announcement of China’s annual fishing ban between May 16 and Aug. 1, 2011 in the northern section of the South China Sea is likely to be defied by Vietnam. Such annual fishing bans have in the past evoked strong Vietnamese protests. While Hanoi accused China of violating its sovereign rights in the sea outside the Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnamese fishermen have opposed the ban and vowed to continue their fishing as usual.