A quarry found in Ha Long Bay
The case was discovered by Tien Phong Newspaper after it received reports from local people. Some locals said the quarry was far from the residential areas and there was only one guarded path.
The reporters had to disguise as labourers to access the mine. The 2km road to the mine was muddy and had about 10 watch houses. At the end of the road, the mountains were already largely damaged.
The quarry is in a buffer zone and has operated for years. The damaged mountain cliffs surrounded an empty lot used to gather the stones, vehicles and equipment. In the afternoon, the work ended. A ship was waiting at the wharf to transport the stone.
On June 27, Vu Van Hop, chief of Quang Ninh Province's Committee office, said it was not a quarry but a construction site managed by Brigade 170 under the High Command of Vietnam People's Navy. They did not mention what they were supposed to be constructing. They said it was inside military land and had permission from the Ministry of Defence. The navy took stone at the construction site.
However, the provincial authorities then criticised the brigade and ordered a stop all activities after a site inspection.
"The navy also admitted their fault and said they would shut down the quarry and restore the environment," Hop said.
He went on to say that they would report the case to the Ministry of Defence.
Colonel Do Van Hung, head of the Brigade 170, claimed this was a national construction and defence project, but didn't mention what the navy were actually constructing, but they had halted all quarrying activities after working with local authorities.