The summit in Singapore fails to reconcile tensions between Beijing, Manila and Hanoi. Chinese Minister of Defense: No military expansionism and hegemony. But Vietnam and the Philippines buy submarines to protect sea boundaries and call for the U.S. intervention. In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh citizens’ protests over Spratly and Paracel islands invasions.

Hanoi (AsiaNews / Agencies) – Tension remains high between Beijing, Manila and Hanoi over maritime borders in the South China Sea. Over the weekend in Singapore a meeting on Asia-Pacific security and the “incursions” by Chinese ships in waters around the Spratly and Paracel islands was held. Yesterday in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City tens of thousands of Vietnamese took to the streets in protest to claim legitimate ownership of the islands (and their vast natural resources).

In his speech in Singapore, Gen. Liang Guangli, China’s Minister of Defense, stressed the peaceful intentions of Beijing, an argument immediately countered by the Vietnamese and Filipino delegates. The minister explained that China is not a “military threat”, in spite of economic growth. ”We [...] are not looking for hegemony or military expansion – added gen. Liang – … This is a solemn promise made by the Chinese government to the international community. ”

However, the assurances of China are rejected by both Vietnam and the Philippines. Phung Quang Thanh, Vietnamese Minister of Defense is concerned about the “incidents” in recent weeks in the South China Sea. Hanoi has apparently bought Russian submarines as a “deterrent” to defend their waters. The Manila counterpart has asked for U.S. intervention, which should “exercise the power of persuasion” toward China.

Voltaire Gazmin, Philippine Defense Minister, said the abuses of the Chinese navy, including the recent placement of construction material on a small island, which lies within Philippine territorial waters. The nations of Southeast Asia speak of a violation of the Code of Conduct – signed by China and ASEAN countries in 2002 – in the South China Sea and has submitted a formal protest against Beijing. In response, Chinese officials have warned Vietnam not to create a “new accident”

Yesterday, meanwhile, protest demonstrations in front of Chinese diplomatic missions in Vietnam were held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. In the capital, about 300 people marched to the Chinese embassy, waving placards and shouting slogans against Beijing seeting its sights on the Paracel and Spratly islands. One thousand, rather, the protesters who targeted the Chinese consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. The intervention of the police dispersed the protesters who had gathered in recent days through the Internet and text message campaigns on their mobile phones.

This is the second public protest in Vietnam against the Chinese giant. In 2007 hundreds of people surrounded the embassy in Hanoi to support the claims of the government on the uninhabited, but very rich in resources and raw materials, Spratly and Paracel islands. Among the nations of the Asia-Pacific region, China is advancing the greatest demands on maritime boundaries. Its hegemony in the area is strategic for trade and exploitation of raw materials, including oil and natural gas.Beijing’s expansionist ambitions are being disputed by Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, the Sultanate of Brunei and Taiwan, as well as the defense of U.S. strategic interests in the area.

 

(Source: asianews.it)

 

By Sherab Woeser – Phayul

Hundreds of young Vietnamese, angered by what they called ‘Chinese invasion of Vietnam lands’ turned out for a rare protest in front of the Chinese embassy in Hanoi, June 5.

The demonstrations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City followed a formal protest lodged by Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs against recent incidents in the South China Sea in which Vietnam accused Chinese naval ships of using weapons to threaten Vietnamese fishermen in the area of the Spratly Islands and cutting the cables of a Vietnamese ship conducting seismic research about 120km off Vietnam’s south-central coast on May 26.

While the protests in Hanoi didn’t find any mention in the Chinese media, the region has been witnessing escalating tensions with China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all claiming territories in the South China Sea.

Vietnam was not the only country accusing China of transgression. Filipino President Benigno Aquino on Friday told reporters that China trespassed into the Philippine’s territorial waters on seven different incidents in less than four months.

[caption id="attachment_817" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Us Wants Wider Asia Military Ties (C) Internet"][/caption]

The Vietnam protests come on the heels of US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, pledging on Saturday, at a regional security meet in Singapore, the expansion of American military presence across Asia and the Pacific to ‘protect allies and safeguard shipping lanes’. The US expressed willingness on strengthening ties with its traditional allies while warning that ‘clashes may erupt in the South China Sea unless nations with conflicting territorial claims adopt a mechanism to settle disputes peacefully’.

The islands at the centre of the long-running dispute are the Paracel and Spratly islands, both potentially resource-rich outcrops that straddle strategic shipping lanes.

The region is observed by many as a possible flash point in the future for US-China military rivalry.

(Source: phayul.com)

 

THE Philippines and Vietnam on Sunday criticized recent Chinese military activity in the South China Sea amid fears that small confrontations in disputed areas could lead to armed conflict.

 

Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told a security forum attended by China’s Defense Minister Liang Guanglie that “actions by other states … unnecessarily make other states like the Philippines worried and concerned.”

“Such a sense of insecurity also results when ordinary fishermen are warned by foreign vessels prompting them to leave the area,” he said.

Gazmin’s remarks came after Manila on Saturday accused China of undermining peace and stability in Asia by allegedly sending naval vessels to intimidate rival claimants in the disputed Spratly Islands.

Manila cited incidents from February to May when the Chinese Navy allegedly opened fire on Filipino fishermen, intimidated a Philippine oil exploration ship and put posts and a buoy in Philippines-claimed areas in the Spratlys.

Manila has also queried Beijing over plans reported in Chinese state media to install an oil rig in the area.

Gazmin said that “insecurity is generated when materials for possibly constructing certain structures are found in areas where a declaration has been made to refrain from putting up such kinds of structure or infrastructure.”

Committed to peace

Liang earlier Sunday told the forum that China was committed to “peace and stability” in the South China Sea.

“I know many people tend to believe that with the growth of China’s economy, China will become a military threat,” said Liang, the first Chinese defense minister to attend the annual conference, called the Shangri-La Dialogue.

“I would like to say that it is not our option,” he said, adding that China would never “seek hegemony” or threaten any country.

In a 45-minute speech followed by a question-and-answer session, Liang warned that countries “should not engage in any alliance targeting a third party” but did not go into detail.

On the sidelines of the forum, Liang held talks with outgoing US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday, a meeting both sides described as positive.

Gates left on Saturday for Afghanistan after delivering a speech warning of the danger of armed conflict in the South China Sea unless nations with conflicting claims adopt a mechanism to settle disputes peacefully.

US-China ties

After long-running tensions sparked by issues such as US arm sales to Taiwan, Liang said on Sunday that “the picture of the bilateral relations between China and the United States is a good one.”

“I believe all of us are very optimistic about the future of bilateral and military-to-military relations,” he added.

The Spratly and Paracel archipelagos, believed to hold major oil and gas reserves, are claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Rare protest in Hanoi

Vietnam’s Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh told the Singapore meeting that “we expect China to honor the policies that they announced” and expressed hope that the statements “translate into reality.”

“I fully propose that we must exercise restraint and patience and commitment to solve these issues, these differences, by peaceful means. We must strictly observe the DOC,” he said.

The Vietnamese general was referring to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, a pact signed in 2002 by China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Sunday in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, in a rare protest demanding that China stay out of their waters following a spat involving a Vietnamese oil-drilling research boat in the South China Sea.

The group of mostly young people demonstrated in front of the Chinese embassy, many wearing Vietnamese flag T-shirts and carrying signs that read, “Stop Chinese invasion of Vietnam’s islands.” After about 30 minutes, they were dispersed by police.

China blasts Vietnam

The protests follow a May 26 incident when a Chinese patrol boat allegedly destroyed the cable on a state-owned PetroVietnam boat conducting seismic research some 120 nautical miles off Vietnam’s central coast.

Clashes are common in disputed areas of the sea claimed by both countries, but Hanoi has responded feverishly to this incident, saying it occurred well within the 200 nautical miles guaranteed to Vietnam as an exclusive economic zone by international law.

China has accused Vietnam of undermining its interests and rights within its waters.

“It is neither a disputed area nor is it an area managed by China,” foreign ministry spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga said recently in response to China’s statement about the incident.

“China has deliberately misled the public into thinking that it is a disputed area,” the spokesperson added.

A number of stories have been published in state-run media blasting the incident as an attack against Vietnam’s sovereignty and accusing China of increasing regional tensions.

Several well-known scholars have called on Vietnam to take the case to the United Nations.

(Source: asiaone.com)

Bloomberg News - Young Vietnamese, spurred by calls on Facebook and other social media, marched through Hanoi to protest China’s recent actions in disputed territories in the South China Sea.

Holding signs that read “Stop Chinese Invasion of Vietnam Lands” and singing the national anthem, a crowd of mostly Vietnamese college students demonstrated on Hanoi’s streets yesterday after police blocked their path to the Chinese embassy.

[caption id="attachment_716" align="aligncenter" width="350" caption="Inllustrated Photo © Internet"][/caption]

The protests, announced on Facebook, blogs and chat forums, highlight growing tensions in the South China Sea as Vietnam, the Philippines and China are unable to agree on renewing joint exploration in the disputed area.

For the Vietnamese demonstrators, it was an unusual public opportunity to engage politically. Most said they heard about the protest on Facebook, which is routinely blocked in Vietnam. The marchers were often flanked by security police.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week formally protested a recent incident in which Chinese naval ships threatened Vietnamese fishermen with weapons in the area of the Spratly Islands, according to a statement on the government website. Vietnam also protested Chinese ships cutting survey cables of a boat operated by Vietnam Oil & Gas Group, or PetroVietnam, last month.

“I’m marching for peace,” said Nguyen Ly Nga Hien, a 21- year-old university student. “If we allow China to continue its bullying behavior, it will upset world peace. This dispute needs to be solved through foreign affairs channels not with Chinese boats provoking us.”

Chinese Embassy

In 2007, hundreds of people demonstrated outside the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi over the Spratly and Paracel islands.

Vietnam and China have verbally sparred over the disputed territories in recent weeks ahead of the annual IISS Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, that took place over the weekend in Singapore.

The Spratly Islands are claimed all or in part by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

To contact the reporter on this story: K. Oanh Ha in Hanoi at oha3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Tighe at ptighe@bloomberg.net

(Source: bloomberg.com)

(Reuters) – About 300 people marched on the Chinese embassy on Sunday in a rare public protest to condemn what they called China’s violation of Vietnamese sovereignty in the disputed South China Sea.

Tension between two has been on the rise since last month when Vietnam accused Chinese patrol boats of harassing an oil-exploration ship conducting a seismic survey 120 km (80 miles) off Vietnam’s south-central coast.

The two countries, which fought a brief but intense war on their land border in 1979, have exchanged accusations and re-staked long-standing claims of sovereignty over maritime territory which covers important shipping routes and may hold large, untapped oil and gas reserves.

Public protests are rare in Vietnam. As well as the procession of banner-waving people in the capital, images posted online showed about 1,000 people marching in what appeared to be a similar protest in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s commercial hub.

Anti-China protesters march on a street in Hanoi June 5, 2011. Up to 300 people shouting ”Down with China” marched to the Chinese embassy in Vietnam on Sunday to protest against what they see as Chinese violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the disputed South China Sea. Credit: Reuters/Khan

The demonstrators in Hanoi sang patriotic songs and chanted slogans including “The Paracels and Spratlys belong to Vietnam”, referring to two largely uninhabited archipelagos claimed by both countries.

“China’s actions are immoral and not something such a powerful nation should do. Vietnam wants a friendly relationship with China but does not tolerate China’s disrespectful, invasive and bullying attitude,” said one protester, Dao Minh Chau.

Two people carried a Chinese flag emblazoned with a pirate’s skull and crossbones.

The protests were the first of their kind since December 2007 when widespread anger about China’s growing assertiveness over its claims to the Paracels and Spratlys drew hundreds of people out in Hanoi.

Maritime disputes are a sensitive topic for the Vietnamese government which tries to strike a balance between appeasing a populace that is deeply suspicious of China and keeping relations its giant neighbour from souring.

Hanoi police watched the peaceful protest and after a while led the demonstrators away from a park in front of the Chinese embassy.

The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim territories in the South China Sea, but China’s claim is by far the largest, forming a vast U-shape over most of the sea’s 648,000 sq miles (1.7 million sq km).

The latest tension comes as defence ministers from around the region met in Singapore for an annual security dialogue.

Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie told his Vietnamese counterpart Phung Quang Thanh at the conference on Saturday that their countries should resolve their disputes peacefully.

Vietnam had said it would use its navy to enforce its territorial integrity.

(Reporting by John Ruwitch and Hanoi bureau; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

(Source: in.reuters.com)