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Vietnam-China conflict; Sino-Vietnamese War, territorial disputes
Topic Started: Tue May 6, 2014 5:07 pm (785 Views)
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Oil rig row yet to hurt Vietnam-China trade: minister

Thursday, May 29, 2014 18:00

China's dispatch of an oil rig and an aggressive flotilla into Vietnam’s EEZ ignited protests across Vietnam and the world, but it has yet to significantly dampen trade between the two neighboring countries, officials announced at a Thursday meeting in Hanoi.

Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang reported that industrial figures have been climbing year-on-year and surveys of sectors that regularly depend on Chinese trade found that business (like the export and import of agricultural produce) has remained normal.

“The situation has yet to cause any signs of significant disturbance,” he said.

The Asian giant is investing in several major projects in Vietnam including two hydropower plants in the south as well as fertilizer, iron and steel factories outside Hanoi. It also provides the main contractors for Vietnam’s bauxite projects in the Central Highlands.

Work at the projects have proceeded as scheduled, officials said.

The steel factory in Lao Cai Province, in which China holds a 49 percent stake, just delivered its first products.

During the recent meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said that Vietnam and its big neighbor will always have an economic relationship.

The ongoing conflict, which has involved a deadly riot at a Chinese-owned factory and the self-immolation of a Vietnamese woman, is just part of the ups and downs of that relationship.

In the long term, bilateral trade will still benefit both sides, he said.

He said China will suffer losses if it stops exporting to Vietnam and has to buy agricultural produce from other countries at higher prices.

In the time of globalization, no trade will come to a dead stop, he said, noting that China cannot simply shut its doors.

Doing so would expose the country to huge pressure from World Trade Organization and arbiters of the ASEAN-China free trade agreement, he said.

The PM urged Vietnamese citizens to fight for their sovereignty with one hand, and with the other hand maintain normal trade relations with Chinese partners.

Given the situation, however, the prime minister warned that the economy needs to be prepared to engage alternative partners at any time.

Vietnam needs to diversify its markets for import, export, tourism, investment and labor, he said.

Trade minister Hoang also said it’s time for Vietnam to reduce its trade dependence on China, given that the bilateral trade deficit climbed to around $40 billion last year.

He said Vietnam needs to seek new partners, in case trade with China is interrupted.

Vietnam is a suffering trade deficit with China but it enjoys a trade surplus with the US and Europe, so there is room to maneuver, officials said.


Minister of Agriculture Cao Duc Phat said that Chinese dealers have put pressure on the prices of several products like sweet potatoes and rubber, but that’s not a problem as local businesses can find alternative sources for those materials.

http://thanhniennews.com/business/oil-rig-row-yet-to-hurt-vietnamchina-trade-minister-26748.html

THERE YOU GO. JUST LIKE THE PHILIPPINES, INSTEAD OF A TRADE SURPLAS WITH THIS ECONOMIC GIANT, VIETNAM IS SUFFERING FROM A $40 BILLION DEFICIT!

THAT MEANS CHINA IS JUST DUMPING ITS PRODUCTS INTO ASEAN INSTEAD OF BEING A BLESSING TO ASEAN NATIONS.

ASEAN LEADERS MUST WAKE UP NOW!

REMOVE THE ASEAN-CHINA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT SO ASEAN WILL REALLY FEEL THE BENEFIT OF WHAT IT IS BEING ASEAN.

ASEAN MUST STAND SOLID NOW AND REJECT THIS ABUSIVE CHINESE PARTNER.

ASEAN SHOULD WORK FOR THE INTERESTS OF ASEAN AND NOT SIMPLY ACT AS CHINA'S SLAVE.
Edited by Flipzi, Sat May 31, 2014 1:13 am.
Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
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Chinese vessel rams, breaks Vietnamese ship in Vietnam’s waters: Vietnam's report

Tuoi Tre News

One Vietnamese vessel was heavily damaged after being rammed by one of the Chinese vessels guarding China’s illegal oil rig in Vietnam’s waters on Sunday, when the rig moved to a new location, the Vietnam Coast Guard said.
...

A notable point yesterday was that the rig began to move slowly at 8:40 am, at 0.5-0.6 nautical mile per hour, and continued moving until 12:00 pm.

Then it stopped at a new location, at 15°33’22’’ North latitude and 111°34’23’’ East longitude, about 140 meters northwest of the previous one, the Vietnam Coast Guard said.

This has been the second movement of the rig since it was positioned in the East Vietnam Sea on May 1.
The movement can be a normal operation aimed at exploring geographical conditions, but it can also a sign of preparations for China to remove the rig from the Vietnamese waters and hold bilateral negotiations with Vietnam, Rear Admiral Le Ke Lam said.

The Vietnamese force in the waters should continue closely monitoring the rig’s movements, the official advised.

Read more at http://tuoitrenews.vn/society/20030/chinese-vessel-rams-breaks-vietnamese-ship-in-vietnams-waters

(Photo: Chinese coast guard boat 46105 fires its water cannon at Vietnam Coast Guard ship CSB 2016 on June 1, 2014 in the Vietnamese waters where China has illegally placed its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 since May 1. Photo credit: Tuoi Tre News)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=243870869135116&set=a.170090996513104.1073741828.169971829858354&type=1
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VIDEO: Chinese ship chases, rams and sinks Vietnamese fishing boat

Published on Jun 4, 2014
A video clip shows two Chinese steel ships chase two Vietnamese wooden-hull fishing boats. One of the Chinese ships soon rams into a Vietnamese boat and sinks it.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mkiTkMVemM
Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
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CHINESE IS A BIG LIAR:

A video clip shows two Chinese steel ships chase two Vietnamese wooden-hull fishing boats. One of the Chinese ships soon rams into a Vietnamese boat and sinks it.

The inhuman action took place on May 26, 2014 in waters of the South China Sea well within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang shamelessly denied the fact and claimed that the fishing boat had capsized after ramming a Chinese boat.

The boat sunk in waters not far from where China has placed an oil rig since the beginning of May, just 150 nautical miles off Vietnam's coast.

Vietnam has said the Haiyang Shiyou 981 rig is in its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone and on its continental shelf.

VIDEO https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=771323989553501
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China Takes Dispute With Vietnam to UN

UNITED NATIONS June 10, 2014 (AP)
By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press

China took its dispute with Vietnam over its deployment of an oil rig in contested waters to the United Nations on Monday, accusing Hanoi of infringing on its sovereignty and illegally disrupting a Chinese company's drilling operation.

China's deputy ambassador Wang Min sent a "position paper" on the rig's operation in the South China Sea to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday and asked the U.N. chief to circulate it to the 193 members of the General Assembly.

China sent the rig into disputed waters on May 1, provoking a confrontation with Vietnamese ships, complaints from Hanoi, and street protests that turned into bloody anti-Chinese riots. Hundreds of factories were damaged and China said in the paper that four Chinese citizens were "brutally killed" and over 300 injured.

The oil platform is located about 32 kilometers (20 miles) from the China-controlled Paracel Islands, which Vietnam also claims, and 278 kilometers (173 miles) from the coast of Vietnam.

According to the paper, the state-run China National Offshore Oil Corporation has been conducting seismic operations and well site surveys in the area for the past 10 years and the drilling operation "is a continuation of the routine process of explorations and falls well within China's sovereignty and jurisdiction."

China accused Vietnam of "illegally and forcefully" disrupting the rig's operation by sending armed ships and ramming Chinese vessels.

"Vietnam also sent frogmen and other underwater agents to the area, and dropped large numbers of obstacles, including fishing nets and floating objects, in the waters," it said.

The paper said Vietnam's actions violated China's sovereignty, posed "grave threats" to Chinese personnel on the rig and violated international laws including the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

It cited numerous references to back its claims that the islands "are an inherent part of China's territory, over which there is no dispute."

Calls to Vietnam's U.N. Mission and its spokesman seeking comment were not answered.

Vietnam, which has no hope of competing with China militarily, said soon after the $1 billion deep sea rig was deployed that it wants a peaceful solution, but a top official warned that "all restraint had a limit."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/china-takes-dispute-vietnam-24063323
Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
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China uses Vietnamese textbook to back claim in South China Sea dispute

By Hilary Whiteman, CNN
June 11, 2014 -- Updated 0933 GMT (1733 HKT)

Hong Kong (CNN) -- China is using photocopied pages from a geography textbook for Vietnamese ninth-graders published 40 years ago to help win international support for its claim to the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

The pages were among documents sent to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, with a request that they be circulated among the General Assembly's 193 members.

It's the latest attempt by the Chinese to prove its ownership of an area that Vietnam also claims as its own, as ships from both countries allegedly jostle each other miles from land in the South China Sea.

What's in the Chinese papers?

The pages from the geography textbook are just some of the documents in the dossier, which include a map of the region, a note from 1958 and the cover of a World Atlas printed in 1972.

"China sent the note to tell the international community the truth and set straight their understanding on the issue," China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Wang Min, said, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Beijing is trying to catch up with Vietnam, which has mounted an effective public relations campaign to convince the international community of the merits of its case, said Sam Bateman, senior fellow in the Maritime Security Program at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University.

"They're trying to catch up lost ground," he said. "I think Vietnam has been winning the public relations battle over the past few weeks, ever since this incident blew up."

How did we get here?

The latest territorial row between Vietnam and China flared in May when China's National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) moved the drilling rig near what China calls the Xisha Islands. In Vietnam they're known as the Hoang Sa Islands.

China claims CNOOC has been exploring the area for 10 years, and this latest drilling operation "falls well within China's sovereignty and jurisdiction." Vietnam says the "illicit" rig is placed in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, and has demanded China remove the rig, its vessels and resolve its maritime disputes.

Both sides have been repeating the claims and demands, but neither has budged. The standoff at sea seems at least likely to continue until China removes the rig, as planned, on August 15.

Is a resolution likely?

Bateman said the issue was unlikely to be resolved by international arbitration as both countries would be reluctant to risk a negative ruling and potential outcry at home.

Especially in the case of Vietnam, who he believes has a weaker claim to the region than China.

"Most objective, independent, international observers agree that China's case for sovereignty over the Paracels is better than Vietnam's for the very reasons that China has now set out in its submission to the U.N.," Bateman said.

He said the best course of action would be for Vietnam to concede ownership to China, and to negotiate concessions including access to fishing waters and an agreement to jointly develop oil and gas resources.
"Vietnam could negotiate concessions with China but unfortunately it's probably getting increasingly unlikely as the Vietnamese government has locked itself into the idea that the Paracels are indisputably part of Vietnam and there would be a huge public outcry if they appeared now to be conceding sovereignty," he said.

Vietnam 'understandably caught out'

Euan Graham, another senior fellow at the RSIS at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said Vietnam was "understandably caught out by the fact that China was seeking to press its claims."

Relations in the past few years had been good, he said, with agreement reached on a number of fronts that suggested the countries were moving towards a cooperative approach.

"I think the unilateral deployment of an oil rig that's surrounded by a security cordon including naval ships and within the envelope of air cover clearly doesn't pass the 'straight face' test on setting up arrangements of a practical nature. I think it was clearly provocative in that sense," he said, of the Chinese oil rig.

Claims and counter claims

In its "position paper" to the U.N., China accused Vietnamese boats of "illegally and forcefully" disrupting the rig's work by ramming Chinese government ships a total of 1,416 times.

The note also claimed Vietnam sent "frogmen and other underwater agents" to the area, and dropped "large numbers of obstacles, including fishing nets and floating objects, in the waters."

In its own note to the U.N. last week, Vietnam accused China of "seriously" violating its "sovereign right" and repeated claims that Chinese ships "rammed and sank" a Vietnamese fishing boat carrying 10 men. At the time, China said the vessel had been "harassing" a Chinese fishing boat.

Analysts say the claims and counter-claims are muddying what should be a clear approach to cooperation in the region, as laid out in the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"Even if it's an area in dispute, there is in the U.N. Law of the Sea an obligation to enter into arrangements of a practical nature," Graham said.

Bateman agreed that the legal dispute over who owns what was stalling efforts to protect and develop the region.

"What I'm concerned about is all this debate is leading nowhere in terms of establishing effective regimes for managing the South China Sea and its resources," Bateman said.

"It's taking us away from the effective cooperation that's necessary because the reality is that I don't think the sovereignty claims are ever going to be settled in the foreseeable future."

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/11/world/asia/china-vietnam-paracels
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Vietnam Deputy PM: Chinese ban has no effect on Viet Nam’s economy

by Editor 15/06/2014 | 12:17 Posted in World

HA NOI, June 14 (PNA/VNS) — Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said Viet Nam would not suffer greatly from China’s recent decision to ban Chinese state companies from bidding on projects in Viet Nam.

In an interview with Radio Voice of Vietnam regarding the state of economic affairs with China, Deputy PM Hai quelled concerns that the Chinese move would negatively impact the nation’s economy.

“If Chinese contractors choose not to bid on projects, the consequences to Viet Nam will be insignificant, as bids from other foreign contractors will remain unaffected. The decision really has no effect on Viet Nam’s economy,” he said.

Concerning the tensions in the East Sea and the worries that many Chinese contractors do not want to continue with existing contracts, the Deputy PM said Viet Nam could find substitute contractors and alternative credit sources.

“However, Chinese contractors should fulfill their commitments for ongoing projects with Viet Nam to avoid violations punishable by international commercial terms (INCOTERM). To date, there are no signs that Chinese contractors are not fully performing on these contracts,” he said.

http://www.angmalaya.net/world/2014/06/15/1049-vietnam-deputy-pm-chinese-ban-has-no-effect-on-viet-nams-economy

The Vietnamese people will be better off w/o the Chinese since probably Chinese exporters are just dumping their products into Vietnam.

Also, Vietnam should ban all Chinese imports, which have killed so many local factories in many nations already, to open up opportunities for Vietnamese manufacturers.

This approach should be taken by the Philippines too. If we eradicate Chinese smuggling and their flooding our market with Chinese crap we will be opening up huge opportunities for the Filipino business people.
Edited by Flipzi, Mon Jun 16, 2014 9:05 am.
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‎Vietnamese‬ ‪‎frogmen‬ threaten ‪‎Chinese‬ oil rig

‪‎HANOI‬, -- As China and Vietnam continue their standoff over an oil rig in the disputed Paracel Islands, Vietnamese combat divers (frogmen) have been ordered to place obstacles such as fishing nets around the controversial Haiyang Shiyou 981 platform to disrupt drilling, reports China's nationalistic Global Times tabloid.

The deployment of frogmen to the waters in the South China Sea indicates that the standoff between Chinese and Vietnamese patrol and fishing boats may escalate into direct confrontation. Beijing meanwhile has arranged for exercises to be carried out to train personnel aboard the Haiyang Shiyou 981 to prevent Vietnamese frogmen from launching an attack against it, the paper said.

Zhang Lisong, the political commissar serving aboard the Liuzhou, a PLA Type 054A guided-missile frigate, told the Global Times that large naval bases and floating facilities like the Haiyang Shiyou 981 rig are seen as easy targets for enemy forces.

"40% of the losses in naval warfare history took place at the anchor site because warships or other facilities are too large to evade enemy fire," said Zhang, "Besides, it takes at least 20 minutes for them to be fully operational."

Zhang said that enemy forces can use their special divisions such as frogmen to launch an effective attack as these forces or small-size mobile boats are extremely hard to be spotted. To combat the threat of Vietnamese frogmen, China has introduced the Russian-built 55mm DP-65 remotely controlled antidiversion grenade launching system. Zhang added that the People's Liberation Army should also set a defense perimeter around the rig to prevent unknown vessels or submarine from getting too close.

An expert on naval operations told the Global Times that Vietnamese frogmen will be the toughest enemy for the PLA to encounter in the future. It is not only the best-trained and most well-equipped special force in Southeast Asia, but also encompasses fearless sailors who are willing to sacrifice their own lives to complete a mission. The PLA must take action against their boats or submarines before they can carry out their mission, the paper said.

http://bit.ly/1i6yVaV
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Vietnam, China make no progress in oil rig talks

The Associated Press
Posted: Wednesday, Jun. 18, 2014

HANOI, Vietnam A top Chinese diplomat and Vietnamese officials made no progress in talks Wednesday about an increasingly bitter confrontation over a giant oil rig China deployed in the disputed South China Sea, officials said.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi is the most senior Chinese diplomat to visit Vietnam since China placed the rig off the Vietnamese coast last month. Both countries have accused the other of violating their territorial rights and instigating clashes between ships around the rig.

A Vietnamese official familiar with the talks said no progress was made during the discussion between Yang and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

He said the two sides still insisted on their opposing positions.

China's Foreign Ministry said Yang blamed Vietnam for interfering with the rig's operations and causing the present difficulties in their relations.

Yang said Vietnam should stop the disruptions and take measures to secure Chinese property and people in Vietnam, according to an account of his remarks released by ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

The rig's deployment in early May triggered anti-China demonstrations and some turned to riots, which resulted in the deaths of five Chinese nationals and injuries to hundreds more. Hundreds of factories were damaged and dozens were burned. Many of them were built with Taiwanese investment.

Yang also met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong.

Dung told Yang that China's placement of the oil rig in Vietnamese-claimed waters was a "grave violation of Vietnamese sovereignty, .... threatening peace, security, maritime and aviation safety in the region," Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. It said he demanded that China withdraw the rig and the vessels escorting it and resolve disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law.

The two ideological allies fought a brief border war in 1979, and skirmishes also occurred in 1988 when China used force to occupy Johnson South reef in the Spratlys. Relations were normalized in 1991.

China claims most of the South China Sea, rich in natural resources and one of the world's busiest sea lanes, bringing it into disputes with neighbors, including the Philippines, a U.S. ally.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/06/18/4985902/no-breakthrough-in-vietnam-china.html#.U6Nb4_ldX9k#storylink=cpy


Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
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In this May 7, 2012 file photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Haiyang Shiyou oil rig 981, the first deep-water drilling rig developed in China, is pictured at 320 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Hong Kong in the South China Sea. AP/Xinhua, Jin Liangkuai, File

China moves oil rig out of waters Vietnam claims

By Chris Brummitt (Associated Press) | Updated July 16, 2014 - 6:02pm

HANOI, Vietnam — China on Wednesday moved an oil rig out of waters claimed by Hanoi after two months of drilling that triggered a near-breakdown in ties between the neighbors and led to deadly protests in Vietnam.

Withdrawing the rig from near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea reduces the immediate risk of a naval standoff but will do little to mend relations between the two countries. Beijing made it clear it was shifting the billion-dollar rig because it had completed its work, not because of the criticism of its actions.

Vietnam demanded that China never deploy a rig again in waters it claims in the region.

"Vietnam is determined to defend its sovereignty and sovereign rights in accordance with international law," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

China deployed the rig in early May, then Hanoi demanded Beijing withdraw it and sent patrol ships to try and disrupt the operations. China insisted it had done nothing wrong and accused Vietnam of illegally disrupting its activities.

The deployment of the rig was widely seen as part of a strategy by China of gradually staking out its claims in the South China Sea, all or part of which are also claimed Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

World ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
China's Foreign Ministry said the rig was withdrawn because the typhoon season was beginning and the work had been completed.

It said it discovered oil and gas in its explorations but was assessing the data before deciding its next move. Whether Beijing deployed the rig for genuine exploration reasons or geopolitical ones was never clear. When it announced the deployment, Beijing said it would withdraw the rig on Aug. 15, also citing the typhoon season.

Ha Le, deputy director of Vietnam's fisheries resources surveillance department, said China began removing the rig and escorting vessels Tuesday night, and by 8 a.m. Wednesday it was 40 nautical miles northwest of its original location and continuing to move toward China's Hainan island.

Le said 30 vessels from Vietnam's coast guard and fisheries patrol forces that were sent to try to force the Chinese oil rig away will return to port to avoid Typhoon Rammasun, which is on a path into the South China Sea.

China's unwillingness to move the rig exposed Vietnam's lack of options when dealing with its giant neighbor. The workings of the government here are shrouded in secrecy, but it has long been assumed that the Communist Party is split between a faction that favors a tough line against Beijing — and consequentially stronger ties with the United States and U.S. allies — and other members who believe a quiet compromise can be reached with their ideological allies in China.

As a result of the rig placement, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has said the country was preparing to file a legal challenge to China's claims in an international tribunal, which could anger China. It remains to be seen whether Vietnam will go ahead with that now the rig has been withdrawn.

Former Vietnamese ambassador to Beijing Nguyen Trong Vinh said China's removal of the rig didn't signal a change of attitude on behalf of the country.

"The removal of the oil rig from our continental shelf and exclusive economic zone is only temporary. Maybe they pulled out the oil rig ahead of the typhoon season. It does not mean that they have abandoned their resolve to take control of most of the East Sea," he said, using the Vietnamese term for the South China Sea.
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