Vietnam escalates dispute with China over oil rig

Vietnam escalates dispute with China over oil rig

Associated Press – May 06, 2014

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam's foreign minister has called his Chinese counterpart to demand Beijing withdraw a large oil rig it has deployed in a section of the South China Sea claimed by Hanoi.

A government statement Tuesday said Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh told Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi that Hanoi would "apply all necessary and suitable measures to defend its rights and legitimate interests" in relation to the rig.

The development represents an escalation of the dispute, and is a sign of Vietnam's anger over China's actions.

Beijing previously said the rig is in its territorial waters.

China claims most of the oil- and gas-rich South China Sea as its own, putting it into conflict with Vietnam, the Philippines and several other nations that claim parts of the sea.

Vietnam protests Chinese oil rig in disputed sea

By CHRIS BRUMMITT May 05, 2014

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam protested a Chinese decision to begin drilling for oil in disputed Southeast Asian waters, calling the move illegal Monday and demanding that Beijing pull back from the area.

Beijing's deployment of its first deep sea rig was the latest in a series of provocative actions aimed at asserting its sovereignty in the South China that have raised tensions with Vietnam, the Philippines and other claimants.

The United States shares many of the regional concerns about China's actions in the seas, which are potentially rich in gas and oil. Last week, President Barack Obama signed a new defense pact with the Philippines aimed at reassuring allies in the region of American backing as they wrangle with Beijing's growing economic and military might.

The China Maritime Safety Administration posted a navigational warning on its website advising that the CNOOC 981 rig would be drilling in the South China Sea from May 4 to Aug. 15, in an area close to the Paracel Islands, which are controlled by China but Vietnam claims as their own.

It said ships entering a 3-mile (4.8-kilometers) radius around the area are prohibited.

Vietnam's foreign ministry said the area where the rig was stationed lay within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as defined by the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"All foreign activities in Vietnam's seas without Vietnam's permission are illegal and invalid," the ministry said in a statement. "Vietnam resolutely protests them."

Vietnam's state-owned oil company, PetroVietnam, demanded that China National Offshore Oil Corporation "immediately stop all the illegal activities and withdraw the rig from Vietnamese waters."

Many analysts believe China is embarking on a strategy of gradually pressing its claims in the water by seeing what it can get away with, believing that its much smaller neighbors will be unable or unwilling to stop them. Vietnam has accused Chinese ships of cutting cables to its exploration vessels and harassing fishermen, as has the Philippines.

Chinese assertiveness puts Vietnam's authoritarian government in difficult position domestically because anger at China, an ideological ally, runs deep in the country. This is exploited by dissident movements, who accuse the government of being unwilling to speak out against Beijing.

Tran Cong Truc, the former head of a government committee overseeing the country's border issues, said the latest Chinese move was especially provocative.

"This act by China is much more dangerous than previous actions such as cutting the exploration cable or fishing bans," he said.