by Admin | Jun 10, 2014 | News
(BGF) – According to Reuters, in a discussion about the South China dispute with U.S State Secretary John Kerry, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged him to speak and act cautiously, and to be objective.
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China urges U.S. Kerry to be “objective” on South China Sea dispute
May 13, 2014 | By Megha Rajagopalan and Nick Macfie
U.S State Secretary John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
Beijing (Reuters) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the South China Sea dispute with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and urged him to speak and act cautiously, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
Wang urged Kerry to be objective, ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing.
Tensions rose in the resource-rich South China Sea last week after China positioned a giant oil rig in an area also claimed by Vietnam. Each country accused the other of ramming its ships near the disputed Paracel Islands.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, rejecting rival claims to parts of it from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. It also has a separate maritime dispute with Japan.
by Admin | Jun 10, 2014 | News
(BGF) – Keith Bradsher from the New York Times commented that China and Vietnam appear to have reached at least a temporary impasse over a giant drilling rig sent by a state-controlled Chinese oil company to a site in the South China Sea, which claimed by Vietnam.
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China and Vietnam at Impasse Over Rig in South China Sea
by Admin | Jun 10, 2014 | News
(BGF) – According to the New York Times, Vietnam failed to rally partners in China dispute in the ASEAN Summit in Myanmar. Vietnam Prime Minister, Mr Nguyen Tan Dung, made a strong statement accusing China of “dangerous and serious violations” in a territorial dispute and addressed the issue to leaders of Southeast Asian countries attending a summit meeting. Nevertheless, the leaders only expressed “serious concerns over the ongoing developments in the South China Sea,” but did not mention China.
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Vietnam Fails to Rally Partners in China Dispute
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam’s prime minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, accused China on Sunday of “dangerous and serious violations” in a territorial dispute that has raised anger toward China here to the highest levels in years.
Mr. Dung’s comments, which were carried in the Vietnamese state news media, were addressed to leaders of Southeast Asian countries attending a summit meeting in Myanmar. It was his strongest statement since China towed a huge oil rig into disputed waters off the coast of Vietnam this month.
“This extremely dangerous action has been directly endangering peace, stability, security, and marine safety,” Mr. Dung was quoted as saying, adding that Vietnam had acted with “utmost restraint.”
Mr. Dung’s comments were uncharacteristically spirited for the typically anodyne meetings of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but they failed to produce collective criticism of China. The leaders, who work by consensus, did not mention the dispute in their final statement on Sunday. Myanmar then released a statement after the meeting was over that expressed “serious concerns over the ongoing developments in the South China Sea,” but did not mention China. It called for self-restraint and the resolution of disputes by peaceful means.
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by Admin | Jun 10, 2014 | News
(BGF) – Carl Thayer from The Diplomat commented on China actions regarding to its placement of the giant state-owned oil rig HD-981 inside Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone on May 2 was unexpected, provocative and illegal.
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China’s Oil Rig Gambit: South China Sea Game-Changer?
May 12, 2014 | By Carl Thayer
China’s placement of the giant state-owned oil rig HD-981 in Block 143 inside Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on May 2 was unexpected, provocative and illegal.
This incident marks the first time China has placed one of its oil rigs in the EEZ of another state without prior permission. This was an unexpected move because China-Vietnam relations have been on an upward trajectory since the visit to Hanoi by Premier Li Keqiang in October. At that time, both sides indicated they had reached agreement to carry forward discussions on maritime issues. China’s move was also unexpected because Vietnam has not undertaken any discernible provocative action that would justify China’s unprecedented actions.
China’s deployment of the rig was provocative because the oil rig was accompanied by as many as 80 ships, including seven People’s Liberation Army Navy warships. When Vietnam dispatched Coast Guard vessels to defend its sovereign jurisdiction, China responded by ordering its ships to use water cannons and to deliberately ram the Vietnamese vessels. These actions were not only highly dangerous, but caused injuries to the Vietnamese crew.
China’s actions are illegal under international law. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying justified China’s actions by claiming the rig’s operations were in Chinese “territorial waters” and had nothing to do with Vietnam. In other words, China has adopted a position similar to Japan with regard to the Senkaku Islands by declaring there is no dispute with Vietnam.
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by Admin | Jun 10, 2014 | News
(BGF) – Vietnam government appeared to approve the demonstrations to communicate its anger over what it sees as Beijing’s aggressive infringement of Vietnamese sovereignty. Hundreds of people across Vietnam have protested against China’s role in a sea dispute, BBC reported.
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Vietnam protesters attack China over sea dispute
May 11, 2014
(Photo credit: The BBC)
Hundreds of people across Vietnam have protested against China’s role in a sea dispute – the largest rallies of their kind recently in the communist country.
In the capital, Hanoi, demonstrators sang patriotic songs and held up placards opposite the Chinese embassy.
Tensions have been running high after Vietnamese ships clashed with Chinese vessels guarding an oil rig in a contested area of the South China Sea.
The protests appear to have the Vietnamese government’s approval.
The country’s communist authorities have broken up previous anti-China demonstrations because of fears that they may be hijacked by pro-democracy activists, says the BBC’s Asia Pacific editor, Charles Scanlon.
Nevertheless, he says, Hanoi has also used the demonstrations to communicate its anger over what it sees as Beijing’s aggressive infringement of Vietnamese sovereignty.
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by Admin | Jun 10, 2014 | News
(BGF) – Southeast Asian foreign ministers voiced “serious concerns” over naval clashes between Vietnam and China, and the regional group’s top official urged Beijing to step up efforts to advance talks on maritime security. Nevertheless, China’s foreign ministry, in a statement late on Saturday May 10, said the issue was not “a problem between China and ASEAN”, the Reuters reported.
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Sea row not a problem between China and Southeast Asia group, Beijing says
May 11, 2014 | By Ben Blanchard and Nick Macfie in Beijing
ASEAN leaders pose for pictures during the opening ceremony of the 24th ASEAN Summit in Naypyidaw May 11, 2014
(Photo Credit: the Reuters)
(Reuters) – The South China Sea dispute is not a problem between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China opposes certain member states trying to use it to sow discord, its foreign ministry said.
Southeast Asian foreign ministers voiced “serious concerns” on Saturday over naval clashes between Vietnam and China as the regional group’s top official urged Beijing to step up efforts to advance talks on maritime security.
Foreign ministers and heads of state of the 10-member ASEAN are facing a test of unity at their summit this weekend in Myanmar as some members express alarm over China’s growing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea and push for a strong joint statement.
China’s foreign ministry, in a statement late on Saturday, said the issue was not “a problem between China and ASEAN”.
“The Chinese side is always opposed to certain countries’ attempts to use the South Sea issue to harm the overall friendship and cooperation between China and the ASEAN,” the ministry said, in apparent reference to Vietnam and the Philippines, two of the most vocal countries on the dispute.
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by Admin | Jun 10, 2014 | News
(BGF) – Vietnam government once were unfavored public gathering for fear they could attract anti-government protesters. However, it allowed several hundred demonstrators to stage a noisy rally outside the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi on Sunday May 11 against Beijing’s deployment of an oil rig in the contested South China Sea. Chris Brummitt in the Associated Press reported this.
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Vietnam allows anti-China protest over oil rig
May 11, 2014 By Chris Brummitt
(Photo Credit: the Associated Press)
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam allowed several hundred demonstrators to stage a noisy rally outside the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi on Sunday against Beijing’s deployment of an oil rig in the contested South China Sea that has triggered a tense standoff and raised fears of confrontation.
The country’s authoritarian leaders keep a very tight grip on public gatherings for fear they could attract anti-government protesters.
This time, they appeared to give in to public anger that also provided them with the opportunity to register their own indignation at Beijing.
Other protests, including one drawing more than 1,000 people in Ho Chi Minh City, took place in other locations around the country. For the first time, they were reported on enthusiastically by the state media.
The government has in the past forcibly broken up anti-China protests and arrested their leaders, many of whom are also campaigning for greater political freedoms and human rights.
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by Admin | Jun 10, 2014 | News
(BGF) – The tension between Vietnam and China has escalating after China deployed its drilling rig in waters which claimed by Vietnam on May 1. Chinese and Vietnamese ships have been colliding each other and resulted in many injured in Vietnam side. The Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is urging both China and Vietnam to exercise “utmost restraint” and resolve the conflict peacefully, the Asian correspondent reported.
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UN chief urges restraint by China and Vietnam
May 10, 2014
(Photo credit: The Associated Press)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging China and Vietnam to exercise “utmost restraint” and resolve their dispute over contested South China Sea waters peacefully.
The U.N. chief urged both countries to settle their differences through dialogue following escalating tensions in the South China Sea in the last few days, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Friday.
Chinese and Vietnamese ships have been jostling each other since China deployed a deep-sea drilling rig last weekend in the disputed waters.
China insisted Thursday it had every right to drill for oil off Vietnam’s coast and warned Vietnam to leave the area. The United States has warned both sides to de-escalate tensions and urged China to clarify its claims to the territory.
by Admin | Jun 10, 2014 | News
(BGF) – Vietnam Communist Party still want to control the country’s dissident movement against China as it shows distrust the public gatherings of any sort, much less ones that risk posing a threat to public order. The New Zealand Herald Nevertheless said that some patriot bloggers shared their thought that it is time for the Communist Party of Vietnam to make a reform, not to rely on China as an economic partner anymore.
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Looming street protests a test for Vietnam
May 10, 2014
(Photo Credit : the Associated Press)HANOI, Vietnam (AP) – Vietnamese anger toward China is running at its highest level in years after Beijing deployed an oil rig in disputed waters. That’s posing a tricky question for Vietnam’s leaders: To what extent should they allow public protests that could morph into those against their own authoritarian rule?
At one level, the ruling Communist Party would like to harness the anger on the street to amplify its own indignation against China and garner international sympathy as naval ships from both countries engage in a tense standoff near the rig off the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
But Vietnam’s government instinctively distrusts public gatherings of any sort, much less ones that risk posing a threat to public order. And they also know that members of the country’s dissident movement are firmly embedded inside the anti-China one, and have used the issue to mobilize support in the past.
On Saturday, around 100 people protested outside the Chinese Consulate in the country’s commercial capital, Ho Chi Minh City, watched on by a large contingent of security officers. Dissident groups have called for larger demonstrations on Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City and in Hanoi, the capital.
The two Asian nations have a history of conflict going back 1,000 years, and the streets of Vietnam’s cities are named after heroes in those fights.
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