Vietnam escalates dispute with China over oil rig

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Vietnam escalates dispute with China over oil rig
Associated Press By CHRIS BRUMMITT
2 hours ago

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam warned China on Tuesday that it would take all necessary measures to defend its interests in the South China Sea if Beijing does not remove a large oil rig from waters claimed by both countries.

The remarks represent an escalation of the dispute in one of Asia's most volatile regions.

China's stationing of the oil rig over the weekend is widely seen as one of its most provocative steps in a gradual campaign of asserting its sovereignty in the South China Sea.

China's assertiveness along with its growing military and economic might is alarming Vietnam, the Philippines and other countries in the region that also claim parts of the oil- and gas-rich waters. The United States, which is undertaking a military and economic "pivot' toward Asia in part to counter Chinese influence, shares the concerns of the smaller nations.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called China's action "provocative and unhelpful to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region."

A Vietnamese government statement said Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh called Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and told him the deployment of the $1 billion deep sea rig, which he said was accompanied by military vessels, was illegal and a violation of Vietnamese sovereignty.

Beijing says that the rig, CNOOC 981, is in its territorial waters. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea.

"Vietnam cannot accept and resolutely protests this Chinese action. It demands that China withdraw the rig HD981 and escort vessels from this area," the statement quoted Minh as telling Yang.

Minh said Vietnam wanted to solve all territorial disputes with China peacefully but "will apply all necessary and suitable measures to defend its rights and legitimate interests" in the seas.

Despite Minh's warning, Vietnam has limited leverage in dealing with its giant neighbor and vital economic partner. It can't afford damaged ties with Beijing, and has no hope of competing with it militarily. But it also needs to show a strong response to appease domestic critics, who accuse it of being soft on China.

Vietnam's Foreign Ministry says the rig is within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as defined by the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. China's maritime administration has announced that ships are prohibited from entering a 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) radius around the area.

The Philippines, a treaty ally of the United States, is challenging China's claims in the waters in an international tribunal in defiance of Beijing's wishes that the disputes be negotiated bilaterally. Vietnam and other claimant states have not joined Manila in taking that step.

China is believed to be embarking on a strategy of gradually pressing its territorial claims by taking incremental measures to asset its sovereignty, believing that its smaller neighbors will be unable or unwilling to stop it. Vietnam has accused Chinese ships of cutting cables to its oil exploration vessels and harassing fishermen.

The oil rig is close to the Paracel Islands, which are controlled by China but claimed by Vietnam. China occupied the Paracel islands 40 years ago, and 74 U.S.-backed South Vietnamese forces died in a subsequent military clash. The Vietnamese and Chinese navies clashed again in 1988 in the disputed Spratly Islands, killing 64 Vietnamese sailors.

The United States is not a claimant in any of the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, but says it has an interest in their peaceful resolution. Psaki said the U.S. was looking into situation regarding the oil rig.

"These events point to the need for claimants to clarify their claims in accordance with international law and reach agreement on what kinds of activities should be permissible within disputed areas," she told reporters.

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Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report.

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Updated

HANOI, Vietnam — Chinese ships have been ramming into and firing water cannons at Vietnamese vessels trying to stop Beijing from putting an oil rig in the South China Sea, according to officials and video footage Wednesday, in a dangerous escalation of tensions over waters considered a global flashpoint.

Several boats have been damaged and at least six Vietnamese on board them have been injured, officials said. The U.S. said it was strongly concerned by “dangerous conduct” in the area.

Elsewhere in the sea, the Philippines arrested 11 Chinese fishermen for catching endangering turtles, angering Beijing and further exposing regional strains.

China recently has been harassing Vietnam and Philippine vessels and fishermen in the potentially oil- and gas-rich waters it claims almost entirety — a shaky stance to many international law experts.

But China’s deployment of the oil rig on May 1 and the flotilla of escort ships, some armed, is seen as one of its most provocative steps in a gradual campaign of asserting its sovereignty in the South China Sea. With neither country showing any sign of stepping down, the standoff raises the possibility of more serious clashes.

Hanoi, which has no hope of competing with China militarily, said it wants a peaceful solution and — unlike China — hadn’t sent any navy ships to areas close to the $1 billion deep sea rig near the Paracel Islands. But a top official warned that “all restraint had a limit.”

Video was shown at the news conference of Chinese ships ramming into Vietnamese vessels and firing high-powered water cannons at them.

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China Tells U.S. To Mind Its Business Regarding South China Sea
by Brendan ByrneMay 07, 2014, 4:52 pm

After Vietnam announced that Chinese vessels were deliberately ramming its coast guard ships, the U.S. criticized the behavior, and were the told to shut it by China today.

Despite the fact that the Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all believe they have territorial rights to waters in the South China Sea, China doesn’t quite see it that way. Following the deployment of a giant oil rig to an area claimed by Vietnam, tensions over these disputed waters has been growing.

Vietnam speaks of Chinese ramming
Today, Vietnam said that a Chinese vessel, with air support, deliberately rammed to of its ships on Sunday causing considerably damage and injuring six people.

“On May 4, Chinese ships intentionally rammed two Vietnamese Sea Guard vessels,” said Tran Duy Hai, a Foreign Ministry official and deputy head of Vietnam’s national border committee.

“Chinese ships, with air support, sought to intimidate Vietnamese vessels. Water cannon was used,” he said in an interview today. Six other ships were believed to be hit as well but damage was minor.

“No shots have been fired yet,” said a Vietnamese navy official, who could not be identified because he was not authorized to speak to media. “Vietnam won’t fire unless China fires first.”

While that is certain to not frighten China one bit and only cement what they know, it is surprising to hear criticism of China from Vietnam given the $50 billion plus in bilateral trade the communist countries enjoy.

While Vietnam was calling on China’s state-run oil company CNOOC to remove the rig, the United States was criticizing the move as well.

U.S and China respond
The United States is “strongly concerned about dangerous conduct and intimidation by vessels in the disputed area,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said In Washington on Wednesday.

She then called the move “provocative and unhelpful” to regional security.

“We call on all parties to conduct themselves in a safe and appropriate manner, exercise restraint, and address competing sovereignty claims peacefully, diplomatically, and in accordance with international law,” she told a regular news briefing.

What came next was quite funny especially when Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told Vietnam that the rig had nothing to do with Vietnam. While one can expect a statement like that regarding the United States getting involved in the war of words (for now), it’s a bit of a head scratching moment when you park an oil rig in a country’s waters and effectively say, “Don’t worry about it. Not your business”

“The United States has no right to complain about China’s activities within the scope of its own sovereignty,” she added.

[khongquan2]

Why China is putting an oil rig off Vietnam coast
Associated Press By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN - 4 hours ago

BEIJING (AP) — China has towed a deep sea drilling rig to a spot off Vietnam's coast in waters claimed by both. The rig has been escorted by a reported 70 Chinese craft that have rammed Vietnamese ships and fended them off with water cannons, raising tensions between the nations to their highest in years.

Q: Why is China doing this? A: China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has begun acting on announced plans to drill for what is thought to be a wealth of oil and natural gas beneath those waters. The moves may also be a test of Vietnam's ability and resolve to defend its own claims, along with Washington's insistence on freedom of navigation there.

Q: Where is the rig? A: China has placed its oil rig about 130 nautical miles off Vietnam's coast in waters already identified by Hanoi for exploration but not yet offered to foreign petroleum companies. Vietnam argues the territory is clearly within its continental shelf. China's argument is based on its historic claim to most of the South China Sea and on the rig's proximity to nearby Paracel Islands, which are also disputed.

Q: What are the legal arguments? A: China's move appears to go against the spirit of both U.N. conventions and agreements Beijing has with Southeast Asian nations that call for nations not to unilaterally engage in conduct that escalates disputes or jeopardizes a resolution to competing claims of sovereignty. The agreements, however, are hazy and unenforceable and China has ignored past commitments while rejecting calls for international mediation.

Q: What about the timing? A: China said the rig is a routine and logical outgrowth of a long-developing oil exploration program. However, its deployment follows a visit to the region by President Barack Obama during which he criticized China's moves to back its claims in the South China Sea and reaffirmed U.S. support for ally Japan in another territorial dispute in the East China Sea. Coming on top of U.S. plans to bulk-up its Asian presence, the remarks left China thoroughly displeased. It also comes ahead of this weekend's summit of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations that includes both Vietnam and the Philippines, with whom China is also feuding over maritime claims. Beijing has been accused of meddling in the fragile grouping before, mainly to further its strategy of preventing the bloc from putting up a united front against China's territorial claims.

Q: What is China's end game? A: China's ultimate goal is to displace the United States as the region's dominant military power and draw its neighbors further into its economic and cultural orbit. Forceful measures to assert its South China Sea claims help build its clout, and there appears little likelihood of China backing away in the face of complaints, much less making concessions on territorial matters.

Q: What are Vietnam's options? A: Vietnam has significantly boosted spending on its military in recent years, but is heavily outgunned by China. While it has shown a willingness to fight China in the past, the economic stakes are higher now and it has little to gain from initiating a shooting war. Hanoi is trying to rally international support against China as an aggressor — charges that resonate with many in the region and the United States. But it lacks the solid alliance with the U.S that countries like Japan and the Philippines have as they confront China. It may now join Manila in perusing a legal challenge against China's sovereignty claims in an international tribunal, but it's unclear whether the prospect of this would be enough to persuade China to withdraw the rig.

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China blames U.S. for stoking tensions in South China Sea
Reuters - 8 hours ago

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's foreign ministry blamed the United States on Friday for stoking tensions in the disputed South China Sea by encouraging countries to engage in dangerous behavior, following an uptick in tensions between China and both the Philippines and Vietnam.

China this week accused Vietnam of intentionally colliding with its ships in the South China Sea after Vietnam asserted that Chinese vessels used water cannon and rammed eight of its vessels at the weekend near an oil rig.

The United States has called China's deployment of the rig "provocative and unhelpful" to security in the region, urging restraint on all sides.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying repeated that the waters the rig was operating in, around the Paracel Islands, were Chinese territory and that no other country had the right to interfere.

"It must be pointed out that the recent series of irresponsible and wrong comments from the United States which neglect the facts about the relevant waters have encouraged certain countries' dangerous and provocative behavior," Hua told a daily news briefing.

"We urge the United States to act in accordance with maintaining the broader picture of regional peace and security, and act and speak cautiously on the relevant issue, stop making irresponsible remarks and do more to maintain regional peace and stability," she added.

Tensions are also brewing in another part of the sea, with Beijing demanding that the Philippines release a Chinese fishing boat and its crew seized on Tuesday off Half Moon Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

Philippine police said the boat and its crew were seized for hunting sea turtles, which are protected under local laws.

Hua said the Philippines' actions were illegal as they had entered Chinese waters to seize the boat and its crew.

"We once more demand the Philippines immediately release them unconditionally ... China reserves the right to take further action," she said, without elaborating.

Manila says the Chinese boat was seized 60 miles off Palawan island, within a 200-mile (320-kilometre) exclusive economic zone declared by the Philippines.

The incident coincided with annual war games this week in the Philippines involving 5,500 American and Filipino soldiers and marines, focusing on maritime security.

Up in the northern Zambales coastline, Philippine and U.S. marines, in rubber boats, assaulted an isolated beach in a mock battle to test the combat readiness of the two oldest allies in Asia-Pacific region.

They also conducted a staff exercise focused on maritime security, responding to a simulated attack on a gas platform and pipeline in western Palawan island.

"We are only testing our contingency plans. This is purely simulations. We are not talking of any particular third country involved in the attack," said a senior Philippine naval officer, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, rejecting rival claims to parts or all of the oil and gas rich waters from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

Last month, the Philippines and United States signed a new security pact allowing American forces wider access to local bases and to build storage facilities as part of U.S. President Barack Obama's "pivot" to Asia policy.

Obama, during a two-day visit to Manila, promised "ironclad" commitment to defend the Philippines, a former American colony, from external aggression.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING and Manuel Mogato in MANILA; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

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China Targeted by Vietnamese in Fiery Riots
By CHRIS BUCKLEY, and THOMAS FULLERMAY 14, 2014

BINH DUONG PROVINCE, Vietnam — Dozens of foreign-owned factories near Ho Chi Minh City lay in charred ruins early Thursday after thousands of Vietnamese workers rampaged over China’s latest efforts to control the South China Sea, this time off Vietnam’s coast.

The riots marked a rare outpouring of popular outrage over China’s increasingly insistent claims to strategically important, resource-rich seas. But in their rage, the Vietnamese workers appeared to misdirect their anger, attacking businesses from countries that took the risk of investing in their nation.

The explosion of violence reflected growing animosity in the region as China works to solidify its claims over vast parts of two seas that other nations have long considered their own.

On Wednesday, the conflict played out not only in Vietnam, but also in the Philippines, which said it lodged a formal protest with China over signs that it is reclaiming land at a contested coral reef. But so far, neither the Philippines nor Vietnam has gotten much backing among other Southeast Asian nations, some of which count on China for investment and aid.

The recent moves by China — covering an area that stretches from Indonesia north to Japan — are part of what analysts see as an effort to create “facts” in the waters that leave China’s less powerful neighbors with few good options for pushing back. Taken together, the actions escalate a longstanding battle that has only deepened with China’s military and economic rise.

In Vietnam, the focus of anger was China’s decision to deploy an oil rig escorted by a flotilla of coast guard and other ships off the Vietnamese coast despite promises to settle territorial disputes by diplomacy.

“It’s just this witches’ brew of aggrievement and nationalism,” Jonathan D. Pollack, who focuses on Asia at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said of the increasingly dangerous contests for control of the South China and East China Seas. “The only option is some sort of move toward shared development, but no one seems to be in the mood for that.”

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the center of those conflicts was the factories in the gritty industrial suburbs north of Ho Chi Minh City, where thousands of poor Vietnamese stitch name-brand sneakers and clothing for sale around the world. Vietnam’s blue-collar workers have expressed discontent over wages and conditions in the past, but in this case the spark was political.

The plants, part of an influx of international investment in recent years, have contributed to more than two decades of uneven, but at times rapid economic growth.

Early Thursday, Nguyen Van Thong, a worker at an electronics plant he said was American-owned, said his fellow workers had been “angry over China’s invasion” when they began driving motorbikes through the streets, lobbing gasoline-soaked rags into buildings. His electronics factory was spared, he said, only when guards trying to fend off an angry crowd pointed to the Vietnamese and American flags flying overhead.

Although Vietnam has been vehement in its opposition to the drilling rig and has in the past loosened tethers on anti-China sentiments, the protests pose a challenge for the authoritarian government, which is wary of unrest that could veer into calls for democracy and eager to maintain good relations with investors.

The country’s leaders face difficult choices in how to respond to China’s latest challenge. Unlike Japan and the Philippines, Vietnam does not have a defense treaty with the United States, which has said it will stand by its allies. It is also more exposed to China’s growing assertiveness; a war, or even heightened conflict, could jeopardize the gains Vietnam has made in recent years after decades of occupation and fighting.

But so far its efforts at diplomacy have failed. Vietnam tried bilateral negotiations with China, but the talk of sharing riches seemed hollow after China dispatched the oil rig without a warning. And Vietnam’s attempts to rally support among its fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations last weekend fell mostly flat, with the nine other countries in the regional bloc offering only a vague call for diplomacy in place of unilateral action.

The lack of good choices for holding off China might have contributed to the pent-up frustration released this week.

The marauding crowds appeared to take their greatest toll on Taiwanese and South Korean factories. The few workers and guards who remained in the streets, where the acrid odor of burned plastic lingered early Thursday, said they assumed rioters were at first confused about the factories’ ownership, then got caught up in indiscriminate looting that rippled out from the show of anger at China.

At one Taiwanese factory that had tried to ward off attack, a banner outside the ruined building read “No Chinese working here.” And in a stretch of the Vietnam Singapore industrial park, which includes investors from many countries, companies that hung signs in Chinese were destroyed or damaged, while nearby plants flying flags of other countries were mainly untouched.

“There was quite a lot of damage,” said Chen Bor-show, the director-general for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, which functions as Taiwan’s de facto consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. Mr. Chen said that around 200 Taiwanese companies were affected. The South Korean Foreign Ministry said 50 Korean-owned factories were damaged in the riots, and one South Korean citizen was hospitalized.

Tran Van Nam, the vice chairman of Binh Duong Province, where the violence occurred, was quoted by a Vietnamese online news site, VnExpress, saying that around 19,000 workers were involved in the protests.

Mr. Nam said in a telephone interview late Wednesday that the situation was “stable” and that 447 suspects had been detained. “We will restore order as soon as possible,” he said.

The Chinese Embassy in Hanoi issued a warning to Chinese citizens, urging them to “minimize unnecessary outings.” Yue Yuen, a Taiwan-based company that manufactures shoes for Nike, Adidas and other brands, said that it had given its workers the day off on Wednesday, and had not yet decided whether to reopen on Thursday, even though its factories were not damaged.

Jerry Shum, head of investor relations, said that Yue Yuen believed that it could still meet its monthly production targets. Even so, the company’s shares, listed on the Hong Kong stock market, fell 4.95 percent in heavy trading on Wednesday.

As a measure of the scale of Vietnamese production, Yue Yuen made 313 million pairs of shoes last year, a third in Vietnam.

While Taiwanese, South Korean and other foreign companies have flocked to Vietnam for its relatively cheap labor, Chinese firms have been able to meet most of those needs at home.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the rioting and called on the demonstrators to “exercise self-control, don’t behave irrationally, damage Taiwanese factory equipment or threaten the safety of Taiwanese business people.” Further damage, the statement said, “could harm Taiwan’s willingness to invest, and harm the longstanding friendly relations between the people of Taiwan and Vietnam.”

The war of words between Vietnam and China continued on Wednesday. The Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, criticized Vietnam for “dispatching a large number of ships to forcibly intervene and brutally ram” Chinese ships around the rig. Vietnam earlier accused Chinese ships of ramming the small armada it sent out to try to stop the rig, and photos showed Chinese coast guard ships training water cannons at Vietnamese vessels.

Workers at the Vietnam Singapore industrial park, where many factories remained closed Thursday morning, seemed shocked by how quickly the protests had spiraled out of control.

One of them, a 23-year-old man, was slumped on the side of a road, covered in soot and bruised from what he described as police attempts to stop the violence and looting. He said he was not involved, but was swept along by a crowd of about 150 workers on motorbikes who were shouting patriotic slogans.

As the police approached brandishing clubs, he frantically searched for a place to hide. He found it in one of the many factories gutted by fire.

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At least 15 foreign-owned factories have been set on fire amid anti-China protests at industrial parks in southern Vietnam.