A ceremony was held in south China’s Guangzhou for the launch of a China-Vietnam joint inspection of the waters outside the Beibu Gulf which is bordered by the two countries. Chinese and Vietnamese experts will inspect the terrain and geological conditions outside the mouth of the Beibu Gulf. The inspection will be carried out by […]
The captain of a Vietnamese fishing boat that came under attack near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea said he is still reeling from the deadly incident, but asserted that his team will return to fish the contested waters. Captain Bui Van Cu said his crew has no choice but to continue fishing […]
Tensions in the South China Sea reignited last month, when China deployed a government-owned oil drilling rig in an area also claimed by Vietnam just south of the Paracel Islands. Anti-China protesters broke into and torched Chinese, Taiwanese, and South Korean factories in southern Vietnam. According to media reports, as many as 21 people died […]
Vietnam’s military is steeling itself for conflict with China as it accelerates a decade-long modernization drive, Hanoi’s biggest arms buildup since the height of the Vietnam War. The ruling Communist Party’s goal is to deter its giant northern neighbor as tensions rise over the disputed South China Sea, and if that fails, to be able […]
Dozens of former high-ranking Vietnamese officials and prominent intellectuals continue to push for policy changes toward neighboring China as Hanoi makes final preparations for an upcoming party congress where personnel for the country’s top jobs will be selected. In an open letter to the Communist Party Politburo last week, more than 100 people — including […]
BEIJING: China’s campaign of island building in the South China Sea might soon quadruple the number of airstrips available to the People’s Liberation Army in the highly contested and strategically vital region. That could be bad news for other regional contenders, especially the US, the Philippines and Vietnam. The island construction work that is creating […]
The “historical sovereignty” China claims over the East Vietnam Sea is baseless and thus Beijing should comply with international law, according to a U.S. expert. Dr. Patrick M. Cronin, senior director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, offered the remark when talking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, rejecting […]
Official media reports in Vietnam have used harsh words to attack Chinese analysts who reportedly said Beijing has “historic sovereignty” in disputed waters of the South China Sea. The controversial comments were made at an international conference on the South China Sea, which concluded Tuesday in Vietnam’s southern coastal city of Vung Tau. “Chinese scholar […]
From the Vietnamese and Filipino point of view, participating in FONOPS is not a walk in the park. First, the October 26 FONOP apparently targeted several islands or features occupied by their respective forces. Further, the United States has consistently considered several of their claims as excessive. It has routinely conducted FONOPS in these waters, […]
The U.S. Navy sent a destroyer within 12 miles of one of China’s man-made islands in a contested area of the South China Sea on Tuesday, a U.S. defense official told CNN. The operation has since concluded, the official said. The U.S. Navy plans to send a destroyer within 12 miles of China’s man-made islands […]