Saturday, May 10, 2014'

China attack Vietnam, provoke the war drum in Southeast Asia

Chinese ship firing a Vietnamese coast guards with water canon

China has attacked a Vietnamese ship in the disputed area near the Vietnamese border sea, as China begin digging for oil with 80 Guards ship in the troubled area.

Vietnam has accused China of intentionally ramming Vietnamese coast guard who patrols the area, while China foreign ministry blamed Vietnam for "provocation".


However, Videos and pictures released by Vietnam showing a contrary to China claim, which Chinese vessels has rammed and spread water canon against the Vietnamese coast guard, and lead to dozen of them injured.

"China had to strengthen its security forces at the scene and take action to stop Vietnam's disruptive activities. In the face of Vietnamese provocation, China has maintained a high degree of restraint,” Yi Xiangling, deputy director-general of the Chinese foreign ministry's Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs, said at a press briefing in Beijing. 


Is it a beginning of war?


Vietnam has send dozen ships to the area were clashes happen around 220 kilometers (140 miles) off the Vietnamese coast, and China has responded by sending another ships to the area, and the stand off between each other continue.

Both country claim the paracel islands, while China claim 90% of the Southeast Asian sea, as part of its territory, near the coasts of the Phillipines, brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.


International response to the issue

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga blamed the rise in regional tensions on China’s unilateral move to drill in the disputed waters. 
Tokyo was deeply worried about the row, he said urging Beijing to rein in its provocations.”

USA has warned China not to take further provocative acts.

State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki had on Wednesday condemned China’s “unilateral action” in sending the rig to the disputed waters, saying it “appears to be part of a broader pattern of Chinese behavior to advance its claims over disputed territory in a manner that undermines peace and stability in the region.”


Vietnamese people's anger

A lots of Vietnamese people has expressed their unsatisfying manner through calling to protest against China, and criticized their communist government for being too soft.

“we condemning acts of aggression by Chinese authorities.” in a statement released by 20 civil society calling for protest.

"we demand appropriate measures” from Hanoi “to actually end the Chinese invasion of Vietnam's territorial waters immediately.”

Dozen of Vietnamese protester has been arrested by the police, which is sign that Vietnam's communist party fear angering China. 

It has been reported by the media, that one Vietnamese blogger has beaten badly by police, due to the letter he write, calling for the release of the Vietnamese protesters.

Philippines coast guard arrest Chinese fishermen


The east in flame


Just before few days, Philippines coast guard detain a Chinese vessel in the disputed area, said that they caught 11 Chinese with 350 an endangered sea turtles.

Today, Philippines said that the Chinese fishermen could face up 12 to 20 years in prison for violating wildlife law.

China has repeatedly calling the Philippines to release the Chinese fishermen, all their calls has been ignored. 

In related development, Philippines announced that it is ready to accept applications to explore for oil and gas in the Reed Bank off Palawan. The area is near where Chinese patrol ships tried to drive away a Philippine exploration vessel in March 2011.

Which apparently, came after China try by force to rig oil in the disputed area with Vietnam.


The Chinese row with Vietnam and Philippines comes with ASEAN summit in 10 may, in which 4 countries have a territorial dispute with China.

It is expected the disputed of paracel and spratly islands to take over of the most of the discussion of the meeting.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said Saturday that he would raise his country's territorial dispute with China at a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders.

China want to send message to all of the countries that have a dispute issue with, that no one can dare to take over their claimed areas.

"At the summit, individual countries affected by the dispute are expected to “take steps to prevent what’s happened to Vietnam” Carl Thayer, a Vietnamese scholar at the University of South Wales, told Radio Free Asia.

“What China has done is provocative because it threatens every other country in the region” he said.

China has “invested a lot of prestige” by deploying a large rig, and if Beijing keeps it there and begins drilling, “it tells countries in the region that over the long term, unless the U.S. protects them and comes in a stronger way, China will bit by bit end up asserting its sovereignty” in the sea, he said. 




Notes that the Philippines have opened case against China in the international court, after China takeover by force the Shoal islands in january 2013, that claimed by Philippines.

In the last march, they completed the application of the case, before few days of the application deadline.

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