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.
