Monthly Archives: May 2014

Vietnam, others could haul China into world court: academic

HANOI — Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines could try going to an international court in a coordinated push against China, Trinh Hoa Binh of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences argued in a recent interview. Tensions between Vietnam and its huge neighbor to the north have run high since Beijing planted an oil rig in […]

Vietnam accuses China of sinking fishing boat

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) Vietnam and China traded accusations Tuesday over who was the aggressor in a clash that led to the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat in the South China Sea, sharpening tensions already dangerously high after China moved an oil rig into the disputed waters. Hanoi accused a Chinese vessel of ramming the […]

If China refuses to face Vietnam at international court, then what?

Since May 1, China has unilaterally deployed its HD-981 rig and many vessels, including military ships, in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf. This action violates Vietnam’s sovereign rights and its jurisdiction over the EEZ of 200 nautical miles and continental shelf. More dangerously, China escalated tensions when its ships, under the support […]

Chinese military building artificial island

MANILA, Philippines – China plans to build a $5-billion artificial island envisioned to be a ”super aircraft carrier” in the Spratlys within the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The online news site Qianzhan.com reported that the No. 9 Design and Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corp. has come up with a proposed design […]

China Flexes In South China Sea, Sinks Vietnamese Fishing Vessel

A Chinese ship rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat off the coast of Vietnam on Sunday, according to Vietnam’s foreign ministry. Ten fishermen were on board, Vietnam News reported. They were rescued by nearby Vietnamese boats approximately 17 nautical miles from an oil rig owned by China near the Paracel Islands. Anti-China protests took place […]

Explaining China’s behaviour in the East and South China Seas

Many people, like my old friend Brad Glosserman, find it hard to understand why China is acting the way it is in the East and South China Seas. What does Beijing hope to achieve by alienating its neighbours and undermining regional stability? Let me suggest an answer: China is trying to build what President Xi […]

East Sea: Be careful with China’s “win-win” plot

VietNamNet: If Vietnam brings the case to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), what steps should we take? Dr. Ngo Huu Phuoc: To bring the case to the ITLOS, we need to prepare a file for the lawsuit. The documents are compiled by the government or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs […]

China’s maritime disputes: Fear, honor and interest

Fueled by China’s growing assertiveness as a rising global power, tensions over territorial disputes have mounted in the Asia-Pacific region. In November last year, Beijing unilaterally expanded its Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) to cover most of the East China Sea, triggering a bitter dispute with Tokyo as the ADIZ also covers the airspace above […]

As Taiwan beefs up prized South China Sea outpost, barely a peep from China

(Reuters) – Taiwan is building a $100 million port next to an airstrip on the lone island it occupies in the disputed South China Sea, a move that is drawing hardly any flak from the most assertive player in the bitterly contested waters – China. The reason, say military strategists, is that Itu Aba could […]