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Asian Nations Unite Against the Chinese Bully; Asian nations against China's greed and arrogance
Topic Started: Fri May 16, 2014 10:13 am (407 Views)
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PH-Vietnam organization wants Asean to unite vs China’s bullying

By Matikas Santos
INQUIRER.net
3:31 pm | Thursday, May 15th, 2014

MANILA, Philippines—An association of Vietnamese and Filipinos joined together to call on other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries to band together and stand up against China’s bullying.

“We would like to call on China to stop bullying Vietnam and Philippines and respect the law of the sea,” Janicee Buco, Philippine representative of the Vietnamese-Filipino Association, said in an interview Thursday.

“We would like to call on other countries to support us, Philippines and Vietnam are small countries so if we are divided, China can dominate us, it’s better if we are united in standing up to China,” she said.

The Vietnamese Filipinos Association is set to hold a rally at the Chinese Embassy Friday to protest the recent deployment of an oil rig near the Paracel Islands that is within Vietnam’s 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

Vietnamese vessels had engaged several times with Chinese escort ships in order to prevent the oil rig from getting to its destination.

Amber Lee, the Vietnamese representative of the association, said that if China can dare to deploy an oil rig in Vietnamese waters, it can do the same to other countries that are affected by China’s nine-dash line claim.

“We would like to call for the support from the Philippine and other Asean countries because if China can deploy the oil rig in the sea of Vietnam, [it] can deploy anywhere in the nine-dash line that [it has] claimed and that will not be good for everyone,” she said.

“We would like all the nations to come together so that China cannot just do anything that [it wants]. [It has] weapons, [it has] guns, [it is] a very strong economy but what it is doing now with [its] neighbors cannot be accepted,” Lee said.

The Philippines has previously filed an arbitration case before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (Itlos) against China’s “excessive” claim in the entire South China Sea.

“Every country thinks that Philippines is right in this situation and we do believe that Philippines will win [the case],” Lee said.

Some 200 members of the group will join the rally on Friday at the Chinese Embassy and Filipinos have been urged to join to bring a strong message against China.

“We just want to show to government of China that what [it is] doing now in the sea of Vietnam is wrong and [it] should stop that,” Lee said.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/104450/ph-vietnam-organization-wants-asean-to-unite-vs-chinas-bullying#ixzz31p8gcOdS
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Philippines, Vietnam urged to unite vs China over sea dispute -- protest set

MANILA, Philippines – As the dispute escalates between China and its neighbor countries, including Vietnam and the Philippines, over the South China Sea, cause-oriented groups will take to the streets this Friday to protest China’s aggression.

US Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG), Vietnamese Overseas Initiative for Conscience Empowerment (VOICE), Di Ka Pasisiil Movement, Filipinos Unite, and Akbayan-Youth urged Filipinos to join Vietnamese nationals in a protest against China’s territorial intrusion.

Since China deployed a deep-water drilling rig in the disputed South China Sea, protests erupted in Vietnam.

“It is with great urgency that I ask the Filipinos to join Vietnamese community here in the Philippines in expressing our anger and disgust at this very, very Hitlerian impetus of China,” Loida Nicolas-Lewis, USP4GG chair, told reporters in a press briefing Wednesday.

Lewis likened China to the oppressive Nazi party led by the German dictator Adolf Hitler for its “hegemony and imperialistic tendencies.”

“We remember in World War 2, Hitler says, ‘this is my last territorial demand. Austria is mine,” she said, noting that China’s aggression was similar to Hitler’s action that started the global war.

“The reason why are holding this rally is to shame China. That’s why we have very, very strong words here because everybody knows what Hitler did to Europe,” she added.

Roilo Golez, former lawmaker and Di Ka Pasisiil Movement leader, said the Filipinos should also be alarmed with China’s aggressive stance against Vietnam.

“If they’re going to succeed in threatening Vietnam, their next step, I’m sure, it’s going to be in our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),” Golez said.

Hoi Trinh, VOICE founder, expressed in a statement that they were one with the Philippines against China’s defiance of the United National Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).

“We object in the strongest possible terms, (especially) China’s deployment last week of deep sea oil rig known as HD-981 within Vietnam’s continental shelf,” Trinh said.

For the part of Filipinos Unite, group of Filipino-Americans in New York, member Knowa Lazarus said Southeast Asia was both the “home” of the Philippines and Vietnam, not of China.

“We have to draw the line and let people know that we will stand and fight for what we believe in,” Lazarus said.

Despite the criticisms against the recently-signed Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca), Ted Laguatan, USP4GG lawyer, stressed that the Philippines needed the US.

“Our national security demands that we should have help from a superpower like US because we are facing a superpower like China. We do need Edca,” Laguatan said.

The groups will hold the demonstration in front of the Chinese Consulate at 330 Sen. Gen. Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City.

An estimated 500 participants will be present to support the protest.

Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/104372/ph-vietnam-urged-to-unite-vs-china-over-sea-dispute-protest-set#ixzz31q8HvKHC

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Edited by Flipzi, Fri May 16, 2014 10:15 am.
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PNoy: ASEAN concerned over ‘dangerous brinkmanship’ in South China Sea

By KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA NewsMay 12, 2014 2:15pm

Tags: Benigno Aquino III
President Benigno Aquino III seemed to have found allies in the other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after its leaders expressed concern over the alleged "dangerous brinkmanship" in the South China Sea.

"There were many leaders who were stating their concern... I’m not sure exactly who said it but something to the effect of... ‘hazardous brinkmanship’ or ‘dangerous brinkmanship’—something to that effect," Aquino told reporters on Sunday after the ASEAN Summit in Myanmar.

The President just arrived from attending the two-day ASEAN Summit in Myanmar. The ASEAN is a regional organization composed of the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, Taiwan, and China have overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea.

During the Summit, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recounted how China was committing dangerous violations in disputed waters.

"[He] enumerated their problems currently, something in the level of 80 ships, planes et cetera... Thirty incidents so far of ramming," he said.

Aquino said he also cited the country's own experiences regarding Ayungin Shoal, Scarborough Shoal, the Kalayaan Island group, and the construction on Mabini Reef.

"I don’t think there’s any disagreement that... [the] series of incidents is a cause for worry and concern by all parties," he said.

Asked whether the recently signed Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States will help deter these incidents, he just said "at the very least, it will be a factor that [China] will have to consider."

But he quickly noted there was consensus among the ASEAN leaders that the issue should be resolved peacefully.

"We did mention that consistent with everybody’s desire to resolve it in a peaceful manner, we did inform them officially of the March filing of the memorial before the arbitration tribunal under ITLOS," he said. —KG, GMA News

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/360661/news/nation/pnoy-asean-concerned-over-dangerous-brinkmanship-in-south-china-sea


ASEAN countries commit to rule of law in settling territorial disputes, says PNoy
By KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA NewsMay 12, 2014 11:10am

Tags: Benigno Aquino III
The members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have committed to settling territorial disputes in accordance with the rule of law, President Benigno Aquino III said Monday.

"Kaya naman po nagpapasalamat tayo sa ASEAN chair, ang Pangulong Thein Sein, at sa iba pang pinuno sa Timog-Silangang Asya na sumuporta sa ating panawagan sa higit na pagrespeto at pagpapatupad sa mga nailatag na prinsipyo sa Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," Aquino said during his arrival speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 on Monday.

"Tunay nga po: Ang hamong kinakaharap ng isang miyembro ay hamon rin para sa buong ASEAN. Sa pamamagitan lamang ng kolektibong pagkilos, makakamit ang isang solusyong pangmatagalan at rumerespeto sa interes at karapatan ng bawat isa," he added.

The President just arrived from attending the two-day ASEAN Summit in Myanmar. The ASEAN is a regional organization composed of the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, Taiwan, and China have overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea.

While at the Summit, Aquino said he shared the country's submission of its formal pleading to the UN tribunal hearing the case seeking to invalidate Beijing's claim over the West Philippine Sea.

"[Iyon po ay] upang igiit na rule of law ang kailangang mangibabaw nang hindi lumala ang hidwaan na kaugnay ng usaping teritoryo," he said.

During a separate interview with reporters in Myanmar, Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma said several ASEAN leaders also called for solidarity amid the problems in the South China Sea.

He said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak called for a "complete demonstration" of solidarity in terms of promoting adherence to the rule of law.

"He said this is the way by which ASEAN would project itself as a respectable and reliable organization," he said.

The Palace official said Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang made the same call while Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on members of the ASEAN to "show more courage."

"Other heads of state may have touched on it on a more general way," he said.

But Aquino noted that even before this Summit, the ASEAN foreign ministers had already released a joint statement regarding the South China Sea.

"Nagpahayag sila ng pagkabahala sa maaaring maging resulta ng mga agresibong hakbang sa pag-aangkin sa teritoryo," he said. —KG, GMA News

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/360634/news/nation/asean-countries-commit-to-rule-of-law-in-settling-territorial-disputes-says-pnoy
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Tokyo may work with Hanoi, Manila on China territorial spats

Staff Reporter 2014-05-12 12:32 (GMT+8)

Japan may be making moves towards an alliance with Vietnam and Philippines to resist China's increasingly aggressive stance in territorial disputes, reports Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao.

Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has said that Tokyo is willing to engage in dialogue with Beijing with no conditions. Last week, Yu Zhengsheng, one of China's top leaders, responded to the remarks, telling a group of Japanese legislators from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that the dialogue would only be held after Japan recognizes China's sovereignty over the disputed Diaoyu islands (Senkaku to Japan, Diaoyutai to Taiwan) and when Abe stops visiting the controversial war-linked Yasukuni Shrine.

Media reports in Japan said Yu threw cold water with his words and reported that the country's government has decided to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam, while also conducting extensive talks with the Philippines, two countries which have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, Japan's foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, has said that territorial disputes between Beijng and Hanoi Sea are due to China's unilateral provocative maritime activities. China should state the basis of its actions to Vietnam and to the international community, the minister said.

Vietnamese authorities said three of its nationals were injured by Chinese water cannon after a clash between their respective coast guard vessels in disputed waters on Friday. It brings the total number of people injured during their recent conflict to nine, Ming Pao said.

Tensions between the two countries have intensified since May 2 after Vietnam attempted to halt China's drilling operations in waters to the south of Zhongjian (Triton) island in the Paracels, or Xisha islands in Chinese. Both countries accused the other of ramming their boats, with China also utilizing water cannon, the paper said.

Meanwhile, China is also engaged in a standoff with the Philippines after the country detained eleven Chinese fishermen for poaching sea turtles last week in the area of the disputed Spratly islands, also in the South China Sea. The fishermen face charges for violating animal protection laws and they could face at least 20 years in prison if found guilty. Philippine officials said the fishermen will remain in custody until prosecutors decide whether to press charges, though photos released by Philippine authorities show that a number of the captured sea turtles died and were kept in inhumane conditions.

China has demanded that its nationals be released, citing GPS coordinates that suggest the fishermen were still in Chinese territorial waters.

Source: http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1101&MainCatID=11&id=20140512000059
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The Vietnamese-Filipino Association wants China out of Spratlys

Members of the Vietnamese-Filipino Association rally in front of the Chinese Consulate in Makati City on Friday, May 16, to denounce the attacks and harassment initiated by Chinese coast guard vessels on Vietnamese boats in the disputed islands last week. The protesters also called on China to get out of the Spratly Islands. Danny Pata

Photo: Danny Pata http://gmane.ws/1sURW0V


Pinoy, Vietnamese protesters picket Chinese consular office in Makati
May 16, 2014 10:44am

Filipino and Vietnamese protesters on Friday picketed China's consular office in Makati City, denouncing what they called China's bullying in the South China Sea.

Traffic was snarled near the World Center along Gil Puyat Avenue where China's consular office is located, radio dzBB's Sam Nielsen reported.

Security personnel at the building cordoned off the area while Makati City police were on hand to prevent trouble.

Many of the participants wore red shirts with yellow stars, and had placards telling China to "get out of Vietnam water."

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/361275/news/metromanila/pinoy-vietnamese-protesters-picket-chinese-consular-office-in-makati
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RP SUPPORTING VIETNAM'S FIGHT AGAINST CHINA'S INTRUSION OF THE PARACELS

from Loida Nicolas Lewis page;

At Press Conference Supporting Vietnamese Nationals VS China's Intrusion of Paracel Islands - May 14, 2014, Manila

Please join us in supporting the Vietnamese Protest Rally Vs China's Intrusion of Paracel Islands TOMORROW, MAY 16, 2014, 12n -1pm in front of the China Consulate at 330 Sen Gil Puyat Ave (Makati).
Bring your passion, bottled water and umbrellas

L-R: Cong. Roilo Golez of Di Ka Pasisiil, Loida Nicolas Lewis of US Pinoys for Good Governance, Atty Ted Laguatan of USP4GGLong Trinh Huu of Vietnamese Overseas Initiative for Conscience Empowerment (VOICE), Rafaela David of Akbayan Youth, Knowa Lazarus of Filipinos Unite (FU)

Source https://www.facebook.com/361525797274929/photos/a.473097402784434.1073741827.361525797274929/631461366948036/?type=1

More here http://w11.zetaboards.com/NDSFP/topic/10271553/
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Filipinos, Vietnamese join anti-China street protest

May 16, 2014

Filipino and Vietnamese protesters took to the streets in Makati City on Friday to condemn Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

About 200 protesters marched to the Chinese consulate to slam the presence of a Chinese oil drilling rig near the Paracel Islands, which are being claimed by Vietnam.

They called China’s action a “blatant violation of international law, infringement upon Vietnam’s sovereignty rights, and if, successful, would constitute dangerous precedents in international relations.”
Joining the demonstration were Vietnamese students and businessmen in the Philippines.

Riot police blocked the entrance to a high-rise building that houses the Chinese consulate.

The street action, which remained peaceful, came after deadly riots in Vietnam that Hanoi said were triggered by China’s deployment of a deep-sea oil rig in a part of the South China Sea.

The protesters, some wearing green cardboard cut-outs of turtle shells, carried placards that read “Vietnam-Philippines join hands to kick off China”, “China Stop Bullying Vietnam and the Philippines” and “We Support Vietnam”.

The Philippines this week filed criminal charges against nine Chinese crew members of a fishing boat seized
by Filipino police in the disputed waters near Palawan for collecting hundreds of protected giant sea turtles.

The protesters also chanted “Paracels Vietnam”, referring to the South China Sea island chain where the Chinese oil rig is deployed.

Filipino politicians joined members of Manila’s Vietnamese community at the demonstration.

“We are here to protest what China is doing against Vietnam. We need to call on the support of local and international friends,” Arya Nguyen, one of about 60 Philippines-based Vietnamese who joined the protest, told AFP.

“If they (the Chinese government) can do that to Vietnam, they can do it to everybody,” echoed Janicee Buco, a Filipina representative of a community group called Vietnam Filipino Association.

Buco said the Vietnamese who took part were Philippines-based descendants of Vietnamese boat people who fled with the aim of being resettled in the West after the Vietnam war.

The protesters said they felt aggrieved over China’s recent moves to assert its territorial claims over most of the strategic and resource-rich waters, including the oil-rig deployment that Hanoi said triggered ramming incidents involving Vietnamese and Chinese vessels.

Like the two communist rivals, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan also have claims to the sea, which overlap those of China and Vietnam.

Manila also accused Beijing of illegal land reclamation on a reef that Filipino officials said could be used to build China’s first airstrip in the disputed waters.

Manila from time to time arrests Vietnamese fishermen for poaching in Filipino coastal waters, but bilateral ties are otherwise cordial.

Both nations have overlapping claims to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, but there has been little tension over those as they work together through ASEAN to contain China’s territorial ambitions.

Also on Friday, a state-run Chinese newspaper backed the use of “non-peaceful” measures against Vietnam and the Philippines, as it considered the possibility of war in the West Philippine Sea, internationally known as South China Sea.

“The South China Sea disputes should be settled in a peaceful manner, but that doesn’t mean China can’t resort to non-peaceful measures in the face of provocation from Vietnam and the Philippines,” the Global Times newspaper, which often takes a nationalistic tone, wrote in an editorial.

“Many people believe that a forced war would convince some countries of China’s sincerely peaceful intentions,” the paper added.

Beijing claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, including areas close to the coasts of other littoral states.

China’s foreign ministry has condemned both Manila and Hanoi, and accused Vietnam’s leaders on Thursday of “indulgence and connivance” with anti-China demonstrators for failing to rein in the protests.

Foreign minister Wang Yi denounced the riots in a telephone conversation Thursday night with his Vietnamese counterpart, according to the Global Times.

Beijing has also dispatched to Vietnam a working team led by assistant foreign minister Liu Jianchao, according to a diplomatic statement.

At a news conference on Friday, Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang warned that the riots could have repercussions for Vietnam’s business interests.

“The incident has led Chinese companies to stop operations and suffer enormous property losses,” Shen said.

The state-run China Daily newspaper weighed in, warning that if the violence continues to escalate, “it will only add to the distrust and enmity between the Vietnamese and Chinese peoples”.

Akbayan Representative Walden Bello, who joined the Makati rally, said Vietnam may also file an arbitration case against China.

The Philippines has filed a case before the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (Itlos) against China’s intrusion into Philippine-claimed territories in the West Philippine Sea, particularly in the Scarborough Shoal, the Ayungin Shoal and the Mabini Reef.

Bello said that when he was in Vietnam three weeks ago, Vietnamese officials revealed to him that they were also thinking of filing a similar case against China.

“Although they do not explicitly say that they support our case before the UN . . . Nevertheless, it is our right [to] launch such a claim. Informally speaking, they are very supportive of the claim,” he said.

BERNICE CAMILLE V. BAUZON and AFP

http://www.manilatimes.net/breaking_news/filipinos-vietnamese-join-anti-china-street-protest/
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Fires in Vietnam could ultimately burn Beijing

By Vikram J. Singh MAY 16, 2014

The spilling of blood and burning of factories by anti-Chinese rioters sweeping across Vietnam reinforces Beijing’s message to other countries claiming territory in the South China Sea: resistance is costly and ultimately futile.

But a region in which anti-Chinese sentiment grows and where sovereignty disputes disrupt trade and economic growth will burn Beijing as well. Over the long term, a commitment to peaceful dispute resolution in accordance with international law, including some concessions on historic claims, would serve China better than its current path.

China made the provocative first move in this latest incident by deploying a massive oil rig to the contested Paracel Islands. There was no doubt that Vietnam would respond, and China prepared by sending an armada of 80 ships — including seven naval vessels along with the rig. The two countries’ maritime forces are now locked in a standoff with aggressive and dangerous maneuvers, water canons and collisions at sea.

Deploying the oil rig allows Beijing to show that Vietnam is in a lose-lose situation when faced with Chinese aggression. If Hanoi ignores the Chinese move, it allows “new facts on the water” that will bolster China’s legal claims down the road. If it resists, its coast guard and navy will be dragged into a long and costly contest against a stronger force. And if the dispute continues to spark violent protests at home by angry Vietnamese nationalists, investment and international confidence gets disrupted for Vietnam — not China.

China does not want open conflict with its neighbors, but when it comes to territorial disputes, the Chinese government has decided it can play hardball with little risk. It can push just enough to advance its own claims, but avoid serious conflict or war by deescalating before things get out of hand.

Beyond the oil rig, Chinese actions in this vein include new construction on contested reefs and shoals occupied by China; patrols and ceremonies on islands claimed by other nations like Malaysia; unilateral fishing bans imposed on other nations while China tolerates illegal fishing and harvesting of coral by Chinese fishermen; and many more. At the same time, China continues to participate in negotiations on a Code of Conduct among the countries it bullies, intended to prevent conflict and prohibit exactly this kind of behavior.

For Chinese leaders committed to defending what they view to be Chinese territory, this aggressive path makes sense for two reasons. First, it teaches the smaller maritime nations of Southeast Asia that they’re better off accommodating Chinese claims than resisting them. In essence, China is saying “we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

Second, China knows that its most important claims — like the nine-dash line covering most of the South China Sea — are not well-founded under contemporary international law. By taking aggressive steps now, Beijing can establish a track record of presence and activity that will position China better if it ever needs to clarify claims in accordance with international law, as called for by the United States and other nations.

But this strategy is bold, not wise. Beijing’s actions carry significant risk, and mask a tension between China’s short and long-term goals. Sailors or airmen in tense standoffs could miscalculate and spark an incident that demands military escalation. Countries like Vietnam could also decide to take a stand and choose to fight rather than give in to Chinese pressure. Yet that decision would be calamitous: the last time China and Vietnam went to war, in 1979, about 60,000 people were killed. China would not benefit from such conflict in Asia, especially if it took the blame for derailing Asia’s long run of peace and progress.

Even if it avoids war, China can overplay this hand to such a degree that Southeast Asian nations defy history and join together to resist domination by a resurgent Middle Kingdom. The 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are far from forming an alliance and have no tradition of such banding together, but ASEAN has grown stronger and is welcoming a greater U.S. role in the region, in part because of China’s assertiveness.

For now, Beijing’s refrain seems to be from the Rolling Stones: “don’t play with me ‘cause you’re playing with fire.” Chinese leaders think the fire will only burn their rivals. They are wrong.

Source: http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/05/16/fires-in-vietnam-could-ultimately-burn-beijing/
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Philippines, Vietnam determined to oppose China's violations in disputed sea'

By Louis Bacani (philstar.com) | Updated May 21, 2014 - 6:50pm

MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino III and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met on Wednesday and agreed to oppose China's actions in the disputed South China Sea.

During the televised joint press conference of the two leaders, Dung said he and President Aquino shared deep concerns over the "current extremely dangerous situation caused by China's many actions that violate international law."

Dung said China's infringement of the two nations' sovereignty, such as the illegal deployment of an oil rig off the coast of Vietnam, has "seriously threatened" peace, stability, maritime security and safety, and freedom of navigation in the disputed sea.

"The two sides determined to oppose China's violations and called on countries and the international community to continue strongly condemning China," Dung said.

He said China should end its violations and fully and strictly observe the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

President Aquino, on the other hand, said he and Dung exchanged views on maritime cooperation and discussed how the two nations can enhance defense capabilities and interoperability in addressing security challenges.

"I believe that continued cooperation with Vietnam, as well as with other members of ASEAN, in defense and security will only contribute to promoting regional stability," Aquino said.

The President added that the continued cooperation between the Philippines and Vietnam will enable the both countries to intensify the protection of their maritime resources.

Upon the invitation of Aquino, Dung is currently in the country to attend the World Economic Forum on East Asia hosted by Manila.

His visit here comes after China deployed an oil rig off Vietnam and began land reclamation efforts on Mabini Reef reportedly for the construction of a military base or an airstrip.

In an earlier press briefing, Aquino's spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the two leaders' meeting should not be seen as a emerging alliance against China. - with AP

Source: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/05/21/1325719/philippines-vietnam-determined-oppose-chinas-violations-disputed-sea
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Philippines, Vietnam Reject Xi's Warning Against Military Alliances

To beef up military alliances targeted at a third party is not conducive to maintaining common security in the region,” Xi Jingping said at Shanghai’s CICA, a veiled reference to military alliances forming to stop China’s expansion in the South China Sea. But Vietnam and the Philippines were not listening; Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stated in Manila on Wednesday that both his country and the Philippines “are determined to oppose China’s violations,” with a view to strengthening diplomatic and defense ties to keep China at bay.

With other diplomatic endeavors falling flat and China’s seemingly perpetual stranglehold over the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Vietnam and the Philippines have few options left in curbing China’s expansion. However, considering China’s constant spats with many of its neighbors and endless claims to territory, this could be a novel way to combat China’s expansion.

Xi may have been riding a wave of resentment from the violent clashes in Vietnam last week (sparked by China drilling in contested waters) that led to the exodus of 3,000 Chinese nationals. But Vietnam and the Philippines appear unmoved by Beijing’s condemnations and threats and are growing closer over Beijing’s claims and provocations. Carl Thayer, from the Australian Defense Force Academy, told Reuters that this strategic partnership is altogether new: “It’s unprecedented for Vietnam to join a U.S. ally and appeal directly for international support.”

This strange show of diplomatic camaraderie against a common adversary is indeed rare, but, frankly, China has left them little choice. As The Diplomat pointed out yesterday, Vietnam and the Philippines can not look for help directly from the ASEAN, as some of the nations involved do not have pressing territorial problems with China, and the Middle Kingdom’s righteous indignation is a force to be feared indeed. But, despite claimant nations being shouted down at the ASEAN and passed over at CICA, they can still give Beijing headaches by working together.

Though Vietnam and the Philippines have been, by far, the most vocal concerning China’s claims in the South China Sea, it is not unlikely to expect a few other nations may want additional protection — both militarily and diplomatically — from China. President Benigno Aquino said, “I believe that continued cooperation with Vietnam as well as other members of ASEAN in defense and security will only contribute to promoting regional stability. It is not an overstatement when I say that I look forward to increased collaboration between our respective defense agencies.”

China, however, rejects this view, claiming that further cooperation between Southeast Asian nations to counter China’s claims would be harmful to regional security.

Diplomatically, China has no trouble condemning, dismissing, and lambasting criticism on all sides by every nation in Southeast Asia, but accomplishments within the ASEAN sphere are not the only option for the many nations annoyed by China’s increased aggression. In the realm of public opinion — considering the only items China has in its diplomatic tool kit are a hammer and ear plugs — claimants can make ground and lose little by banding together on these disputes.

Currently, all parties are talking peace, and there’s no reason to think that should change, but there are knock-on effects to ratcheting up tensions, not the least of which is the economy. Dung said on Thursday, “The risk of conflict will disrupt these huge flows of goods, and have unforeseeable impact on regional and world economies. It may even reverse the trend of global economic recovery.”

Amid Xi’s warning at CICA — which was made in front of a number of claimant nations, including Vietnamese Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan and representatives from the Philippines and Japan — the Philippines and Vietnam have managed to become odd bedfellows in the diplomatic mêlée to keep China out of the South
China Sea. If their gambit has a positive effect, others may want to follow suit.

http://thediplomat.com/2014/05/philippines-vietnam-reject-xis-warning-against-military-alliances/
Alfred Alexander L. Marasigan
Manila, Philippines
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