Vietnam Stands Its Ground With China

Jun 13, 2011 by James

Vietnam will be conducting a live fire drill in the South China Sea during a time when tensions with China are rising in the area over disputed waters. Vietnam is warning vessels to stay out of the area near its central coast when it conducts the drills on Monday. This directly follows a war of words between the two nations. China became irate when Vietnam accused a Chinese fishing boat of deliberately ramming cables from an oil exploration vessel within Vietnam’s waters.

China accused Vietnam of “gravely violating” its sovereignty, saying Vietnam’s actions had endangered Chinese sailors’ lives, and warned it to stop “all invasive activities”.

This is the second such incident between China and Vietnam within the last two weeks and Vietnam says that this is China’s attempt to gain control over the disputed waters. Vietnam says the attacks were ”premeditated and carefully calculated.” The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have rival claims in the area but China is notorious for claiming more than there fair share. Retiring Defense Seceratary Robert Gates has said that without the presence of the United States Navy in such regions that China’s military would be “very aggressive“.

China has been slowly expanding the amount of territory that they lay claim to and it has led to several disputes. China isn’t just looking to control Vietnam’s waters but they’re also looking to control the most precious substance in the world - oil. Vietnam is actively searching for oil in those waters and China has called for Vietnam to halt all oil exploration in the area. China also warned its other neighbors to stop looking for oil in the South China Sea without China’s permission.

In addition to the live fire exercises Vietnamese webmasters have been warned that tens of thousands of sites could be at risk of an escalating attack by Chinese hackers, state media reported Friday. Over the past few days hackers have attacked over 1,500 sites, including government portals, leaving Chinese flags and abusive messages, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

: Vietnamese Navy Frigate

Beijing has been desperate to extend its reach and influence of its military and that requires the
need for more natural resources. China’s continued disturbances with its neighbors has caused many, including the United States, to worry about the stability of the South China Sea which is potentially rich with natural resources.

Vietnam will be carrying out two exercises totaling nine hours on Monday and it marks the first time that Vietnam has issued an alert about conducting maritime drills. Oddly enough the naval exercises come at a time when the United States is strengthening its defense ties with the Communist nation. Last year Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Vietnam to discuss several core areas of defense. The USA Today said “Gates is in Vietnam largely to make the point that the U.S. will back small nations that feel pushed around by China.”

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The Vietnamese Government has requested military help from the United States and other governments in its recent dispute with China. Tensions are continuing to rise between the two nations with rare protests continuing in Vietnam for the second straight week. Hundreds showed up outside the Chinese embassy to voice their anger. A State Department spokesman has said that the events in the South China Sea has the U.S. troubled but cautioned against any show of force which may only increase tensions.

Source: Financial Times

Source: BBC News