Politik - Demokratie (2014/2)

South China Sea: Chinese navy assaults Vietnamese marine surveillance vessels and trawlers

31.05.2014 by Paul N. Hung (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - In addition to, and warships , China also uses fighter jets that violate Vietnamese airspace. At least 30 Vietnamese patrol boats hit this week. A fishing boat was sunk . Another was boarded by Chinese military boarding The escalation of tension in the South China Sea shows no sign of abating. Yesterday 100 Chinese patrol boats, four ships and about 40 military vessels (at least in appearance) surrounded Vietnamese coastguard and fishing vessels near an oil rig that China has placed in Vietnamese territorial waters. In addition, some Chinese fighter jets violated Vietnamese airspace to defend the platform.

Hanoi media claim that Chinese naval vessels had "pointed their guns" on the Vietnamese marine surveillance ships. Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng said that so far at least 30 patrol boats were hit and damaged by Chinese military vessels, described as "very aggressive ." [read more]

25 years after Tiananmen Square, time to break the silence

31.05.2014 By Dan Southerland (The Washington Post) - Twenty-five years after the Chinese army fired on unarmed citizens defending pro-democracy protesters at Tiananmen Square, China’s Communist Party seems more determined than ever to silence critics who dare to speak out about the massacre.

This year, the government began striking earlier and harder than before at those attempting to mark the highly sensitive anniversary dates of June 3 and 4.

One would expect more confidence — and the courage to face up to history — from a leadership that has overseen such rapid economic growth since 1989. Analysts say that the party is nervous about social unrest resulting from the abuse of power by authorities, land and labor disputes and a sense that endemic corruption has benefited high-ranking officials and their children.

But when it comes to Tiananmen, the party may also fear something else: the courage of those who refuse to forget the massacre. [read more]

Mar Chino meridional. Naves chinas en orden de guerra asaltan corbetas y pescadores vietnamitas

31.05.2014 de Paul N. Hung (AsiaNews) - Hanoi - Además que a corbetas y naves de guerra, China usa también jet de combate que violan el espacio aéreo de Vietnam. Al menos 30 corbetas vietnamitas fueron atacadas en estos días. Una lancha de pesca fue hundida. Otro sufrió abordaje de parte de militares chinos.

La escalada de tensión en el Mar Chino meridional no da señales de aplacarse. Ayer 100 corbetas chinas, 4 naves militares y 40 barcas pescadoras de Vietnam (al menos en apariencia) se enfrentaron con corbetas y barcas pesacdoras de Vietnam en las cercanías de una plataforma petrolífera que China colocó en aguas territoriales vietnamitas. Además de esto, algunos jet chinos de combate violaron el espacio aéreo vietnamita para defender la plataforma. [seguir leyendo]

Philippine SC urged to rule on exploration agreement with China, Vietnam

31.05.2014 (inquirer.net) - MANILA, Philippines — In the face of China’s recent aggressive actions against the country, a group of party-list lawmakers has asked the Supreme Court to immediately resolve a six-year-old petition seeking to declare as unconstitutional a 2008 agreement that allowed China and Vietnam to jointly explore with the Philippines oil resources in the country’s undisputed and claimed territories in the West Philippine Sea.

The group originally filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition against the agreement that the Arroyo administration had signed, which allowed the joint exploration among the Philippines, China and Vietnam of the Philippines’ territorial waters.

The agreement is officially called the Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking in the Agreement Area in the South China Sea between and among the Philippine National Oil Co., China National Offshore Oil Co. and Vietnam Oil Gas Corp. [read more]

Law doesn't matter in the South China Sea

31.05.2014 Eric Posner (The Nation) - The South China Sea looks like a tongue hanging down from the Chinese mainland to its north. Vietnam lies to the west, Malaysia to the south, the Philippines and Taiwan to the east. Rocks, shoals, reefs and islands dot the sea. Fisheries abound, oil gurgles beneath the seabed. The countries that line its coasts all hunger for these resources. But they disagree over who owns what.

Both Vietnam and the Philippines have strong claims, and so it might seem reasonable for them to seek arbitration. But a tribunal can’t stop China from bullying its neighbours. The countries can halt Chinese expansion into the South China Sea only if the United States backs them up, and it is unlikely that the United States will. Over the long run, it can’t.

Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, countries are entitled to marine resources that lie within 200 nautical miles of their coastline or islands they own (in an area called the Exclusive Economic Zone). They also own mineral rights in the continental shelf that juts out from their territories. The smaller countries mostly follow these rules.

China, by contrast, ignores them to claim nearly the entire South China Sea. In 2009, the Chinese government filed a map of the South China Sea region with the UN. The map displayed a line, composed of nine dashes that followed the sea’s outline all the way around, leaving only a thin band of water for China’s neighbours along their respective coasts. This nine-dash line, as it came to be called, suggested that China claimed the marine resources in nearly the entire South China Sea. [read more]

Japan meldet erneut chinesische Schiffe in umstrittenem Gewässer

31.05.2014 (ZEIT ONLINE) - Tokio (AFP) Japan hat der chinesischen Küstenwache vorgeworfen, mit zwei Booten in das Hoheitsgewässer zweier umstrittener Inseln im Ostchinesischen Meer vorgedrungen zu sein. Die beiden Schiffe seien gegen zehn Uhr morgens (03.Uhr MESZ) in die Zwölf-Meilen-Zone vor den Senkaku-Inseln eingedrungen [Weiterlesen]

In unusually strong language, US warns China against aggression as allies seek more cooperation

31.05.2014 (The Times of India) - SINGAPORE: The United States warned China on Saturday to halt destabilizing actions in Asia, as Washington and its allies sought to boost defence cooperation in the face of what Japan called an "increasingly severe" security environment.

Using unusually strong language, US defense secretary Chuck Hagel told an Asia-Pacific security forum that the United States was committed to its geopolitical rebalance to the region and "will not look the other way when fundamental principles of the international order are being challenged".

"In recent months, China has undertaken destabilizing, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea," he said in the speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. [read more]

USA drohen China: „Wir sind entschieden gegen Einschüchterung“

31.05.2014 (Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten) - US-Verteidigungsminister Chuck Hagel hat den Verbündeten in Südostasien zugesichert, die Amerikaner würden auch mit weniger Geld weiter ihre Interessen in der Region verteidigen. China, dem die Drohungen galten, versprach, keinen Ärger zu machen. Asien könnte der nächste Schauplatz für einen Ost-West-Showdown sein.

Inmitten zunehmender Spannungen in Südostasien haben die USA ihren Ton gegenüber China verschärft. Verteidigungsminister Chuck Hagel nutzte eine Sicherheitskonferenz in Singapur am Samstag für eine Warnung an die Adresse Pekings, jegliches Vormachtstreben in der Region zu unterlassen. Auch der japanische Verteidigungsminister Itsunori Onodera konstatierte eine zunehmend schwierige Sicherheitslage in der Region. China wies die Vorwürfe zurück. [Weiterlesen]

Gebietsstreitigkeiten in Asien Amerika ruft China zur Ordnung

31.05.2014 (FAZ) - Immer wieder kommt es derzeit vor den Küsten der Nachbarländer zu Provokationen der Chinesen. Mit ungewöhnlich harten Worten ruft nun Amerikas Verteidigungsminister Chuck Hagel Peking zur Ordnung - von „Einschüchterung“ und „Nötigung“ ist die Rede.

Der amerikanische Verteidigungsminister Chuck Hagel hat China angesichts der Territorialstreitigkeiten in Asien in ungewöhnlich scharfer Form kritisiert. In den vergangenen Monaten habe die Volksrepublik destabilisierend und einseitig gehandelt, sagte Hagel am Samstag auf der Sicherheitskonferenz Shangri-La-Dialog in Singapur. „Wir sind entschieden gegen Einschüchterung, Nötigung oder die Androhung von Gewalt als Mittel zur Durchsetzung solcher Ansprüche.“ [Weiterlesen] 

EEUU acusa a China de "desestabilizar" el mar de China Meridional

31.05.2014 (AFP) - EEUU advirtió este sábado a China de que no permanecerá de brazos cruzados si peligra el orden internacional, al acusar al país asiático de "acciones unilaterales, desestabilizadoras" en el mar de China Meridional, acusación que Pekín consideró "sin fundamento".

"Estos últimos meses, China ha realizado acciones unilaterales, desestabilizadoras en el mar de China Meridional", señaló el secretario estadounidense de Defensa estadounidense, Chuck Hagel, en Singapur, en un foro sobre seguridad en Asia-Pacífico, donde precisó que "los principios fundamentales del orden internacional no pueden ponerse en entredicho".

China reivindica la práctica totalidad del mar de China Meridional, donde mantiene contenciosos con Filipinas, Vietnam, Taiwán, Malasia y Brunéi. [seguir leyendo]

Très ferme mise en garde des Etats-Unis à la Chine contre ses "actions de déstabilisation" en mer de Chine

31.05.2014 (Le Huffington Post Quebec) - Le secrétaire américain à la Défense, Chuck Hagel, en tournée en Asie du Sud-Est, a accusé samedi la Chine d'entreprendre "des actions déstabilisatrices" en mer de Chine méridionale, avertissant que les Etats-Unis ne resteraient pas passifs si l'ordre mondial était menacé.

"Ces derniers mois, la Chine a entrepris des actions unilatérales, déstabilisatrices en mer de Chine méridionale", a accusé Chuck Hagel à Singapour lors d'un forum sur la sécurité en Asie-Pacifique, précisant que "les principes fondamentaux de l'ordre mondial ne pouvaient être remis en cause".

Les Etats-Unis, tout en ne prenant pas partie dans les différents conflits territoriaux en mer de Chine, "s'opposent fermement à tout recours à l'intimidation, à la coercition, ou menace de la force pour affirmer des revendications", a poursuivi le secrétaire à la Défense à l'attention de la Chine. [en savoir plus]

Scharfe Kritik an China bei Sicherheitskonferenz in Asien

31.05.2014 (Frankfurter Neue Presse) - Singapur. Im Streit mit China um Territorialansprüche im Südchinesischen Meer bekommen die Nachbarländer mächtige Rückendeckung aus den USA und Japan. US-Verteidigungsminister Chuck Hagel warf China Destabilisierung in der Region vor.

«Die USA werden nicht wegschauen, wenn jemand die fundamentalen Prinzipien der internationalen Ordnung herausfordert», sagte er am Samstag bei der Sicherheitskonferenz Shangri-La-Dialog in Singapur. Eine Rede von Chinas stellvertretendem Stabschef Wang Guanzhong stand für Sonntag auf dem Programm der Konferenz.

Die USA bezögen keine Position im Streit um die Inseln, sagte Hagel. «Aber wir sind klar gegen Einschüchterung, Nötigung und Androhung von Gewalt, um Ansprüche zu unterstreichen.» [Weiterlesen]

Japan boosts regional security role; China wary

31.05.2014 (The Hindu) - Japan’s moves to take a more “proactive” security role in Asia, outlined by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s offer on Friday to supply Vietnam and the Philippines with naval patrol vessels, has brought a wary response from China, which is embroiled in maritime disputes with the three countries. Mr. Abe, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday, a key regional security meet attended by defence ministers and military officials from the region as well as the United States, outlined a new and ambitious vision for Japan to play “an even greater and more proactive role than it has until now” in Asia.

While not directly referring to China through much of his address, the clear message from Mr. Abe was that his government was willing to play a more prominent role amid rising maritime disputes involving China and Asean countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines.

Japan, he said, will offer “its utmost support for the efforts of the countries of Asean as they work to ensure the security of the seas and the skies, and thoroughly maintain freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight”. [read more]

New Asia-Pacific Collective Defense Needed

30.05.2014 Written by Khanh Vu Duc and Duvien Tran (Asia Sentinel) - Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore provides a chance to tackle the threat of regional instability.

This year’s annual Shangri-La Dialogue, held by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, features Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as its keynote speaker. Perhaps not surprisingly, the summit will feature discussions on conflict management, military-to-military cooperation, and, perhaps most noteworthy, the United States’ contribution to regional stability.

All of this comes after almost a month of tension between China and Vietnam when the former relocated one of its oil rigs inside Vietnam’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone. A series of anti-China protests and riots seized Vietnam days after, resulting in the deaths of at least two Chinese citizens and forcing an exodus of thousands more, including many Taiwanese workers caught in the crossfire, forcing Hanoi to step in and quash further demonstrations. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam Prepares Suit Against China in Spat Over Oil Rig

30.05.2014 (Bloomberg News) - Vietnam has prepared evidence for a legal suit challenging China’s claim to waters off the Vietnamese coast and is considering the best time to file it, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said yesterday in an interview.

Dung faces a difficult choice, having to weigh the economic cost of antagonizing Vietnam’s largest trading partner against stepping up pressure for China to defend its claims before an international court. Trade with China rose to $50.2 billion last year and accounts for about 15 percent of Vietnam’s global trade, according to Vietnam’s General Statistics Office. The two countries aim to boost that flow to $60 billion in 2015, according to an April 14 statement from Vietnam’s government.

The sea dispute with China “has caused some impact in a few sectors of the Vietnamese economy,” Dung said. “However, we have taken suitable measures to respond.” [read more]

Asia's Week: Vietnam Oughta Pivot to a World's Fair

30.05.2014 Tim Ferguson (Forbes) - Violence against Chinese-owned factories in Vietnam has spread to mayhem at factories run by South Korean, Taiwan and Singapore companies as well. It’s as though Vietnamese were protesting not only the heavy-handed construction by China of an oil rig within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea but also giving voice to a long litany of complaints against all those whom the Vietnamese see as exploiting them.

Vietnamese nationalism is a dominant factor. The Vietnamese people patriotically resent China’s claims to the entire South China Sea. They see China’s policy as a continuation of Chinese domination going back many centuries, almost into pre-history, when Chinese warlords controlled much of what is now northern Vietnam. [read more]

ASEAN meet set to hear that Tokyo, Washington are ready to bolster security cooperation

Abe backs up ASEAN on maritime security, prods China

30.05.2014 KYODO (The Japan Times) - SINGAPORE – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Friday to support Vietnam and the Philippines in their territorial disputes with China, saying the use of force and intimidation to change the status quo cannot be justified.

In a speech at the Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Abe said the rule of law is what makes the Asia-Pacific region stable, adding that countries should adhere to international law, avoid resorting to force and resolve conflicts peacefully.

The speech, the first by a Japanese prime minister at the forum also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, came amid a recent spike in regional tensions as China and Vietnam continue to clash over Beijing’s deployment of an oil rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea, and Japan and China raise the aerial ante in their dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. [read more]

Shinzo Abe will Südostasien unterstützen - Im Grundsatz gegen China

30.05.2014 Patrick Zoll, Tokio (NZZ) - Shinzo Abe hat südostasiatischen Ländern Unterstützung bei der Lösung territorialer Konflikte versprochen. Damit will Japans Regierungschef die Reihen gegenüber China schliessen.

Der böse Bube in der Nachbarschaft heisst China, und Japan steht jenen Ländern bei, die unter dem Despoten zu leiden haben. Dies war im Grundsatz die Botschaft des japanischen Ministerpräsidenten Shinzo Abe an die Länder Südostasiens, die ihre territoriale Integrität durch das zunehmend forschere Auftreten Pekings gefährdet sehen. «Meine Regierung unterstützt mit aller Kraft den Versuch der Philippinen, den Konflikt im Südchinesischen Meer zu lösen», sagte Abe. Auch Vietnam stehe man bei, etwa mit neuen Patrouillenschiffen für die Küstenwache. Zwar nannte Abe in diesem Zusammenhang China nicht beim Namen, doch war klar, an wen er sich wandte. [Weiterlesen]

In dig at China, Japan PM says supports SE Asia on freedom of sea, air

30.05.2014 by Masayuki Kitano and Raju Gopalakrishnan (Reuters) - SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, pushing for a greater role for Japan in regional security, said on Friday that Tokyo would offer its "utmost support" to Southeast Asian countries, several of which are locked in maritime disputes with its arch-rival China.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, rejecting rival claims to parts of it from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei in one of Asia's most intractable disputes and a possible flashpoint.

Beijing also has a separate maritime dispute with Japan over islands in the East China Sea. [read more]

Japan schmiedet Allianzen gegen China

30.05.2014, von Christoph Hein (FAZ) - Das Vordringen Chinas im Süd- und Ostchinesischen Meer bereitet wachsende Sorge. Am heutigen Freitagabend will Japans Ministerpräsident Shinzo Abe in Singapur seiner Strategie eines „proaktiven Pazifismus“ vorstellen, um Peking in seine Schranken zu weisen.

Der zweite Gipfel innerhalb einer Woche steht Asien ins Haus, und wieder geht es um die Sicherheitslage. Auf dem Weltwirtschaftsforum am vergangenen Wochenende warnten die Südostasiaten China vor einem weiteren Vordringen im Südchinesischen Meer. An diesem Wochenende, auf dem Shangri-La Dialog in Singapur, wird Japans Ministerpräsident Shinzo Abe seine Idee einer Sicherheitsstruktur in Asien vorlegen. Die anwesenden Amerikaner werden ihn dabei kräftig unterstützen. [Weiterlesen]

Hagel to raise China disputes in meeting

30.05.2014 By Lolita C. Baldor AP (Taiwan News) - Days after the U.S. and China traded new accusations of cyberspying, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday he will press the same issues in a face-to-face meeting with a top military officer from Beijing this weekend.

His meeting with Lt. Gen. Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of the General Staff, is slated for Saturday. It comes during a national security conference in Singapore, where other Asian nations are also likely to air complaints about the escalating clashes in the region over disputed islands, colliding ships and China's placement of an oil rig in waters claimed by Vietnam. [read more]

China should stop its aggressive behavior in South China Sea

30.05.2014 (The Asahi Shimbun) - Nearly a month has passed since a Chinese state-owned enterprise started drilling for oil in waters close to the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

It is natural that China’s strong-arm actions are stirring criticism from the international community. China should give some serious thought to how it should behave as a responsible major power.

China cannot earn the respect of any other country by trying to push through its own claims in an oppressive attitude. [read more]

Vietnam edges closer to old US foe as maritime dispute with China heats up

30.05.2014 Kristine Kwok and Julian Ryall (South China Morning Post) - The territorial row with Beijing in the South China Sea is nudging Vietnam closer to the US and its regional allies, Japan and the Philippines, analysts say.

But Hanoi has limited options as it attempts to focus international pressure on China without sabotaging the relationship with its giant neighbour, an important ideological and economic partner.

For years, Hanoi has been edging closer to Washington and others in the international community in order to counter Beijing's increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea. [read more]

China's Ready to Rumble

29.05.2014 By Joshua Kurlantzick (Bloomberg Businessweek) - Over the past two months, as China’s maritime disputes with Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam have escalated, most foreign observers and American officials, though worried, have shown little concern that the conflicts would explode into a full-scale war. After all, for more than three decades China has profited enormously from being part of the global economic system. Its military, though growing, remains far less technologically advanced than American armed forces. And for 30 years, predictions that China one day would try to dominate its region by force have always been proven wrong.

But this time the wolf might actually be here. China’s highly nationalistic new leadership may no longer simply accede to the existing international economic and security order ... [read more]

The Whole World Is Pivoting to China

29.05.2014 By Jean-Pierre Lehmann (The Jakarta Globe) - Only halfway through 2014 and it is clear the year will be remembered for a number of seismic shifts occurring in the Asia-Pacific region. Because Asia in the early 21st century is, as Europe was in the early 20th, the center of world power and potential, the implications for the wider global order are considerable.

The center of the Asia Pacific Region is China. The “pivot to Asia,” whether in its original American form, or its many reiterations, is in fact a “pivot to China.” During his Asian “pivot” tour to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines in April, US President Barack Obama kept insisting that his policies — whether the Trans Pacific Partnership, from which China is currently excluded; mega-regional trade pact; or the 10-year defense pact with the Philippines — were not meant to contain or control China. He seems to protest too much!

In the meantime, Japan, which has a fair number of issues with China, including a tense dispute over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, is proposing under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to “reinterpret” the pacifist constitution so as to allow Tokyo greater maneuverability in boosting collective defense: another “pivot to China.” [read more]

India’s Modi and China’s Xi: Frenemies, or Just Plain Enemies?

29.05.2014 Michael Schuman (Time) - With two nationalists in power, relations between the world’s two most populous nations could turn even frostier

Narendra Modi, the newly installed Prime Minister of India, has no shortage of problems to tackle. The slumping economy requires a hefty dose of difficult reforms to get moving again. Malnourishment, miserable health conditions and a lack of opportunity haunt hundreds of millions of poor. Corruption is out of control. Unrest is rampant in the country’s east. And then there is the pesky issue of foreign policy, especially the ongoing tensions with India’s neighbors. That means Pakistan, of course, but also that other Asian giant — China. [read more]

Vietnamese Fisherman Vows to Return to South China Sea

29.05.2014 Trung Nguyen (VOA) - The captain of a Vietnamese fishing boat that sank Monday after allegedly being rammed by Chinese vessels vowed to resume fishing in the South China Sea.

Dang Van Nhan wants “to set examples for future generations” of fishermen, he told VOA’s Vietnamese Service shortly after being brought to shore.

The incident occurred near China’s controversial oil rig in disputed waters claimed by Hanoi and Beijing. Vietnamese and Chinese boats have repeatedly clashed since May 1, when China moved the oil rig to an area within what Hanoi considers its exclusive economic zone.  [read more]

Vietnam is no easy target for China

29.05.2014 Humphrey Hawksley (Nikkei Asian Review) - China's recent decision to force a showdown with Vietnam in waters around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea tempers an argument that has gained momentum in recent months -- that is, with the growing assertiveness of Russia in Ukraine and China in East Asia, a weakening U.S. is being challenged by increasingly confident authoritarian governments.

Since late last year, Russia has annexed Crimea and encouraged separatism in eastern Ukraine. China meanwhile has tested the resolve of Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and now Vietnam with its territorial claims in the East and South China seas.

Vietnam's navy remains minuscule compared with China's. But, on paper, Vietnam's army was similarly outmatched against the firepower of France and the U.S. -- and for that matter, China itself. Its greatest asset, as American troops discovered, is a formidable fighting spirit: Vietnam has been prepared to fight invaders to every last man and woman. [read more]

Vietnam Mulling New Strategies to Deter China

28.05.2014 By Carl Thayer (The Diplomat) - What is Vietnam’s strategy for resisting Chinese coercion?

International media coverage of the confrontation between China and Vietnam over Beijing’s placement of a mega oil rig in waters claimed by Vietnam has dried up with the passage of time. But daily confrontations continue. The present situation is not a standoff but a determined effort by China to alter the status quo by pushing the Vietnamese Coast Guard and Fishery Surveillance Forces back beyond China’s self-proclaimed nine-dash line.

Vietnamese government sources express concern that China will move the oil rig closer to Vietnam than its original placement. They worry about where it will be placed because, these sources argue, neither China nor Vietnam knows precisely where the nine-dash line is located. [read more]

ASEAN: A House Divided

28.05.2014 By V Suryanarayan (The New Indian Express) - China has recently installed a $1 billion oil exploration rig in South China Sea. Vietnam naturally reacted vehemently; Hanoi even expelled ethnic Chinese working in Vietnam for anti-Vietnam activities. The Philippines, which also has territorial claims in the South China Sea, expressed its resentment a few days ago over Chinese moves to reclaim land around Johnson South Reef of the Spratly Islands, possibly to build an airstrip. Tensions began to mount when the Filipino maritime police arrested Chinese fishermen for poaching into what Manila considers its territorial waters.

Why has South China Sea become an area of conflict? What are the reasons for the present imbroglio? Every year $ 5.3 trillion worth of trade passes through South China Sea, of which the US accounts for 23 per cent. It is estimated that South China Sea contains 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet natural gas. No wonder all littoral states are vehemently staking claims. They are also expanding and modernising their armed forces. Since 2003, there has been an increase of 175 per cent in China’s military expenditure. What’s more, unlike earlier when Beijing used to emphasise the necessity for a peaceful periphery, today it is asserting its territorial claims. It considers South China Sea to be a “core area” that has to be safeguarded and protected. Japan has decided to donate coast guard patrol boats worth $110 millions to the Philippines. And, what’s more, senior officials of the US State Department have questioned the legitimacy of Chinese claims over South China Sea. Washington has asked Beijing not to impose an Air Defence Identification Scheme in the sea. [read more]

US Alliances Lead Asian Allies to Be More Antagonistic Toward China

28.05.2014 By Ivan Eland (Antiwar.com) - President Barack Obama’s "pivot" to Asia is directed at strengthening U.S. Cold War era alliances to tacitly contain a rising China. However, that means that even minor disputes between American allies and China could drag the United States into a shooting war with a nuclear weapons state. Unfortunately, those minor quarrels are occurring now.

Vietnam chose to take the route of bilateral negotiation with China over territorial contentions. In 2011 and 2013, Vietnam reached a framework with China for talking about maritime issues so that they would reduce the chance of confrontation.

In contrast, knowing it has the formal backing of the powerful American military, the Philippines has refused bilateral negotiations over maritime disputes with China and has behaved more aggressively. For example, the Philippines has begun legal proceedings against China in a United Nations tribunal over its territorial claims in the South China Sea. [read more]

Cold War heats up in Asia

28.05.2014 By Peter Lee (Pakistan Observer) - Wednesday, May 28, 2014 - The People’s Republic of China decided to defy the “pivot to Asia” by parking its HYSY 981 drilling platform protected by a flotilla of various vessels perhaps not including PLAN ships- in waters that Vietnam considers part of its economic exclusion zone (EEZ).

Vietnam has been displeased, to put it mildly. It has reached out to the Philippines, indicating that it may support Manila’s legal challenge to the nine-dash-line, which Beijing uses to stake its geopolitical claims in the South China Sea, or perhaps institute a legal case of its own.

A Vietnamese deputy prime minister is also visiting Washington at US Secretary of State John Kerry’s invitation, apparently to provide optics for an expected US congressional resolution condemning PRC activities in the South China Sea. The visit also raises the specter (for the PRC) of a US return to Cam Ranh Bay, the massive US-built naval base on the southish Vietnamese coast. [read more]

Haiyang 981: from water cannons to court?

27.05.2014 Author: Huy Duong, Southeast Asian Sea Foundation (East Asia Forum) - A dangerous clash has flared up between Vietnam and China over the latter’s deployment of an oil rig near the disputed Paracel Islands. One option for Vietnam is to submit the dispute to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea’s (UNCLOS) compulsory dispute settlement procedure.

The salient geographical details are that the rig, Haiyang 981, is deployed about 130 nautical miles from Vietnam’s undisputed continental coast, 119 nautical miles from the Vietnamese Ly Son Island, and 180 nautical miles from China’s undisputed Hainan Island. It is 17 nautical miles from the disputed Triton Island, a rock that does not qualify for an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or any entitlement beyond 12 nautical miles; and 103 nautical miles from the- disputed Woody Island, which might be entitled to an EEZ of up to 200 nautical miles. [read more]

Hanoi setzt auf Deeskalation

27.05.2014 Hans Spross, Cui Mu (Deutsche Welle) - Trotz des jüngsten Zwischenfalls in umstrittenem Seegebiet - ein vietnamesisches Boot wurde gerammt und sank - setzt Hanoi auf Deeskalation. Die Wirtschaftsbeziehungen zu China sollen nicht weiter belastet werden.

Seit der Verlegung der Ölplattform in das umstrittene Seegebiet kommt es dort immer wieder zu gegenseitigen provozierenden Manövern von Schiffen beider Seiten. "Dutzende Offiziere der vietnamesischen Fischerei-Überwachungsbehörde" seien bei Ramm-Aktionen durch chinesische Schiffe seit dem 1. Mai verletzt worden, erklärte ein vietnamesischer Sprecher laut AFP. Beide Seiten schieben sich für den jüngsten Vorfall die Schuld zu.

Keine weiteren Demonstrationen

Während die Verlegung der Plattform am 1. Mai 2014 zu massiven Protestaktionen in Vietnam und in der Folge zu anti-chinesischen Ausschreitungen und Plünderungen geführt hat, blieben die Reaktionen auf den jüngsten Vorfall in Vietnam bislang verhalten.

"Der Vorfall war Thema auf der ersten Seite aller großen Tageszeitungen, allerdings nicht die Top-Meldung", berichtet Sonja Schirmbeck von der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Hanoi gegenüber der Deutschen Welle. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam Weighs Sea Rights Against China Business: Southeast Asia

27.05.2014 (Bloomberg) - Vietnam’s leaders face growing pressure to challenge China in international court, risking economic retaliation by its largest trading partner, after a Vietnamese fishing boat collided with a Chinese ship and sank.

Legal action is one of the few options Vietnamese leaders have to placate a population that expects the government to counter China’s increasingly aggressive moves in the South China Sea. Deadly anti-China protests erupted in Vietnam earlier this month, targeting businesses thought to be Chinese. Elevating the dispute to an international tribunal or the UN threatens to damage economic ties between the neighboring communist countries.

“Vietnam’s leadership has very little left in their strategy,” Carlyle Thayer, an emeritus professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, said in a phone interview yesterday. Another option for Vietnam is to join a new alliance with the Philippines and Japan to conduct joint patrols and maritime surveillance, Thayer said. China would be hesitant about attacking a group that includes a U.S. treaty ally, he said. [read more]

Chinesische Fabriken angezündet. Zehntausende Vietnamesen arbeitslos

27.05.2014 (n-tv) - Nach den anti-chinesischen Ausschreitungen in Vietnam haben nach Behördenangaben bis zu 60.000 Arbeiter ihre Jobs verloren. Bei den Krawallen wurden in der Provinz Binhz Duong im Süden des Landes zwölf Fabriken zerstört und zehn schwer beschädigt, zitiert die Zeitung "VNExpress" den Direktor der Sozialversicherungsbehörde, Bui Huu Phong.

Die ersten Proteste fanden offenbar mit Billigung der Regierung in Hanoi statt, doch dann gerieten sie außer Kontrolle und schlugen in Gewalt um. Hunderte Sicherheitskräfte wurden eingesetzt, um die Krawalle zu beenden. Gegen 300 Verdächtige wurden vietnamesischen Angaben zufolge Ermittlungen eingeleitet. Einige seien bereits zu Haftstrafen von bis zu drei Jahren verurteilt worden, hieß es. Gleichzeitig sagten die Behörden den betroffenen Firmen Hilfen zu. [Weiterlesen] 

Why Vietnam Can't Count on Its Neighbors to Rally Against China

27.05.2014 By Bruce Einhorn (Bloomberg Businessweek) - China’s fight with Vietnam has taken an even more dangerous turn. On May 2, a state-owned Chinese company began drilling for oil in a part of the South China Sea claimed by both countries, and relations have been deteriorating ever since. Ships from both sides have attacked one another and, fueled by media coverage of the incidents, anti-Chinese protesters went on a rampage around Vietnam, setting fire to Taiwanese owned factories with Chinese workers.

Now comes the latest escalation: A Vietnamese fishing boat has been sunk in the disputed waters after an attack after a Chinese ship “deliberately attacked” it, according to the official Viet Nam News. The Chinese oil exploration violates international law, VNS reported, quoting National Assembly deputy Truong Trong Nghia saying: “The area where the rig is stationed is totally within Viet Nam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.” [read more]

Vietnam and China trade accusations over sinking of Vietnamese fishing boat

27.05.2014 Tania Branigan in Beijing (The Guardian) - Hanoi has accused Chinese boats of ramming and sinking a Vietnamese fishing vessel, while Beijing hit back by blaming the Vietnamese craft, amid growing friction in the South China Sea.

There have been a spate of collisions between the two nations' ships – until now without loss of any vessels – after a long-running territorial row reignited earlier this month when China towed an oil rig into disputed waters, sparking mob violence in Vietnam that led to several deaths. [read more]

Vietnam accuses China as boat sinks

27.05.2014 (The Guardian) - Ten fishermen rescued after ramming in South China Sea, says Vietnamese media, as tensions simmer over oil rig.

A Chinese fishing vessel rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat in the disputed South China Sea, Vietnamese state media reported Tuesday, in an incident likely to sharpen already dangerously high tensions between the two nations over their overlapping claims in the waters.

The reports in the Tuoi Tre newspaper and other media said the incident occurred about 18 miles (30km) from a large oil rig China deployed on 1 May in a section of the sea claimed by both countries. The move by Beijing infuriated Hanoi and set off violent anti-China protests. [read more]

Vietnam denuncia ataque de navío chino contra un pesquero en aguas en disputa

27.05.2014 (La Voz de Galicia) - Un barco pesquero vietnamita, con diez tripulantes a bordo, acabó hundido cerca de las Islas Paracel tras ser golpeado por un navío chino, un nuevo incidente que aviva las tensiones entre ambos países en estas aguas en disputa, informan hoy medios vietnamitas.

El incidente ocurrió la tarde de ayer, según informo el diario «Tuoi Tre», cuando 40 embarcaciones chinas rodearon a un grupo de pesqueros vietnamitas a unos 30 kilómetros al sur del emplazamiento en el que China está instalando una plataforma petrolera de la compañía estatal china CNOOC en aguas reclamadas por Pekín y Hanoi.

Los diez pescadores vietnamitas que viajaban en la embarcación hundida fueron rescatados por otros barcos vietnamitas, apuntan el informe de la Guardia Costera de Vietnam. [seguir leyendo]

Es riecht nach Eskalation

27.05.2014, von Christoph Hein (FAZ) - China versenkt im Südchinesischen Meer einen vietnamesischen Fischkutter. Die ohnehin angespannte Lage droht zu kippen. Manche warnen schon vor einem Krieg.

Es riecht nach Eskalation, nach der nächsten Runde in einer Auseinandersetzung, die sich aufschaukelt: Vor den Paracel-Inseln hat ein chinesisches Schiff einen Fischkutter aus Vietnam gerammt und versenkt. Dies berichtet das vietnamesische Außenministerium. Die zehn Besatzungsmitglieder seien von anderen vietnamesischen Schiffen geborgen worden. [Weiterlesen]

Chinesisches Schiff soll vietnamesisches Fischerboot versenkt haben

27.05.2014 (Deutsche Welle) - Der Streit zwischen China und Vietnam über Hoheitsrechte im Südchinesischen Meer eskaliert: Vietnam beschuldigt das Nachbarland, verantwortlich für das Sinken eines Fischerbootes zu sein: Es sei gezielt gerammt worden.

Er könne bestätigen, dass das Boot gerammt worden sei, sagte ein Vertreter der vietnamesischen Rettungskräfte. Nach der Kollision sei das Boot umgekippt und gesunken. Die zehn Besatzungsmitglieder seien aber wohlauf und mittlerweile wieder an Land.

Der Präsident der Fischerei-Genossenschaft der vietnamesischen Küstenstadt Danang sprach von einem "Mordanschlag". Die Chinesen hätten das Boot versenkt und seien dann davongefahren. Anders die Darstellung von chinesischer Seite: Die staatliche Nachrichtenagentur Xinhua bestätigte die Kollision zwar und berief sich dabei auf Regierungsangaben aus Peking. Sie erklärte aber zugleich, die Aggression sei von der vietnamesischen Bootsbesatzung ausgegangen. [Weiterlesen]

Nouvel incident entre la Chine et le Vietnam

27.05.2014 (Le Figaro) - Un navire chinois a percuté et coulé un bateau de pêche vietnamien près de la zone où la Chine a installé une plateforme pétrolière dans des eaux revendiquées par les deux pays, a annoncé mardi le chef des garde-côtes du Vietnam.

Les dix marins à bord ont été secourus par des bateaux de pêche vietnamiens naviguant à proximité, a déclaré Nguyen Quang Dam, ajoutant que l'incident s'était produit lundi à environ 17 miles marins de la plateforme pétrolière, en mer de Chine méridionale. [en savoir plus]

Philippines and Vietnam in the South China Sea: A Burgeoning Alliance

26.05.2014 Richard Javad Heydarian (The Huffington Post) - It was bound to happen. For decades, the Philippines (liberal democracy) and Vietnam (communist) have developed a lukewarm partnership -- within the confines of regional bonds of solidarity -- despite the increasing convergence of their strategic interests. But as China steps up its territorial claims in the South China Sea, the two Southeast Asian countries have inched closer to a genuine alliance.

The recent meeting between Philippine President Benigno Aquino and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (May 21) saw "productive discussions" over establishing a bilateral strategic partnership, marking a critical step towards deepening economic and political cooperation between the two countries. Finally, they have decided to move from semi-passive neighborly relations to institutionalized strategic cooperation, especially in the realm of maritime security and regional stability. [read more]

Demonstration der Stärke: Militär-Manöver von China und Russland

26.05.2014 (Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten) - Über dem ostchinesischen Meer demonstrieren China und Russland ihre gemeinsame Stärke. Der Westen ist nervös: Ein japanisches Flugzeug verletzte die Sperrzone und wurde abgedrängt.

China und Japan haben mit dem Einsatz von Kampfjets über dem Ostchinesischen Meer ihren Territorialstreit verschärft. China habe Militärjets gestartet, nachdem Japan während eines gemeinsamen Seemanövers mit Russland in den Luftraum über dem Ostchinesischen Meer eingedrungen sei, erklärte das chinesische Verteidigungsministerium am Sonntag. China wirft den japanischen Militärflugzeugen dabei „gefährliche Aktionen“ vor. Dagegen beschuldigte Japans Verteidigungsminister Itsunori Onodera China, übertrieben reagiert zu haben. [Weiterlesen]

China riles Vietnamese

26.05.2014 (Bangkok Post) - Anti-China riots in southern Vietnam have caused waves of problems and questions which still are not settled. Factories lie in ashes, hundreds are in jail and China has made theatre by "evacuating" thousands of Chinese workers from Vietnam. The May 13 riots represented a serious turn of events between the historically fractious neighbours. But it also must be noted that the riots began with a Chinese show of force apparently designed to spark an extreme response.

It is certain that the Hanoi regime allowed large anti-Beijing protests and rallies last week. Political-type demonstrations are tightly controlled in the country. It is less clear whether the protesters got out of hand, or whether the Vietnamese government also pretended not to notice when the fires started. Hanoi now must move to clean up this situation, which was largely if not completely of its making.

Two Chinese people died in the violence. More than 100 were injured, 16 of them critically. Damage is still being assessed, but "many" factories were destroyed, or badly damaged. Most of the violence was directed against Chinese and allied Taiwanese facilities. And at least one Thai-owned factory was damaged by its own Vietnamese employees. [read more]

El mar de China, lleno de gas... y conflictos: ¿Crecen los roces entre China e Indonesia?

26.05.2014 (RT) - Las disputas territoriales en el mar de China Meridional se deben a que son zonas ricas en gas y petróleo. Tras las recientes tensiones entre China y Vietnam, parece que la crisis entre Indonesia y China también aumenta.

Hace tres semanas buques de la Armada y de la Guardia Costera de Vietnam trataron de impedir que una plataforma petrolera de China desplegara su equipo de perforación cerca de las islas Paracelso, un archipiélago bajo el control de Pekín desde 1974, pero que países como Vietnam o Filipinas reclaman como suyos.

Los conflictos en el mar de China Meridional tienen una larga historia. Pekín reclama un 90% del área contenida dentro de lo que se conoce como 'la línea de los nueve puntos', asegurando que su derecho a la zona proviene de cuando hace 2.000 años las islas Paracelso y Spratly eran parte de su territorio. Sin embargo, sus vecinos tienen otra postura. [seguir leyendo]

Strategie der Nadelstiche

Wie China versucht, seinen Machtanspruch in Südostasien durchzusetzen – und die Nachbarstaaten gegen sich aufbringt

25.05.2014 Von Felix Lee (Weser-Kurier) - Chinas mächtigem Staatspräsidenten Xi Jinping wird nachgesagt, er habe Angst vor Wladimir Putins Besuch Mitte der Woche in Schanghai gehabt. Nicht so sehr vor seinem russischen Amtskollegen an sich, sondern vor dem Medienecho.

Ähnlich wie Putin gegenüber den Europäern hatte die chinesische Führung vor zwei Wochen Vietnam vor vollendete Tatsachen stellen wollen und verankerte unweit der vietnamesischen Küste eine Ölplattform in einem Seeterritorium, das beide Seite seit Jahrzehnten für sich beanspruchen. Doch offensichtlich hatte die chinesische Führung die Auswirkungen nicht zu Ende gedacht. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam won’t be pushed around by China

25.05.2014 By H.D.S. Greenway (Boston Globe) - Vietnam may prove harder to push around than some of China’s other maritime neighbors in contested waters. Vietnamese and Chinese ships recently rammed each other and fired water cannons to contest China’s bringing in a giant oil rig off the barren sandspits called the Paracel Archipelago that both claim in the South China Sea. It was not the first such confrontation.

Forty years ago, when there was still a South Vietnam, I watched South Vietnamese war ships holed by gunfire limp home into the port of Danang. They had not been fighting their mortal enemy, North Vietnam. They had clashed with Chinese forces off those same disputed Paracel islands that lie about equidistant from the Chinese and Vietnamese coasts. China made a big fuss over the confrontation at the time, saying its forces had protected the motherland. South Vietnam scored a propaganda victory over Hanoi by calling upon all Vietnamese, of whatever political persuasion, to denounce the Chinese occupation of sacred Vietnamese soil. [read more]

Vietnam blocks anti-China protests again

25.05.2014 (NHK World) - The Vietnamese authorities blocked anti-China protests on Sunday for the second weekend in a row. Protesters used the Internet to urge people to take part in rallies across the country.

But the government set up fences around a park in front of the Chinese embassy in the capital Hanoi early on Sunday morning. Police officers were deployed to block any demonstrations. [read more]

Inselstreit: China und Japan liefern sich Auseinandersetzung über Luftraum

25.05.2014 (derStandard) - Peking/Tokio - China und Japan haben mit dem Einsatz von Kampfjets über dem Ostchinesischen Meer ihren Territorialstreit verschärft. China habe Militärjets gestartet, nachdem Japan während eines gemeinsamen Seemanövers mit Russland in den Luftraum über dem Ostchinesischen Meer eingedrungen sei, erklärte das chinesische Verteidigungsministerium am Sonntag.

Nach japanischen Angaben näherte sich ein chinesischer Kampfjet einem japanischen Aufklärungsflugzeug in der Nähe umstrittener Inseln bis auf 50 Meter. Einer weiteren Maschine hätten sich die Chinesen sogar bis auf 30 Meter genähert. Noch nie seien sich chinesische und japanische Militärflugzeuge so nahe gekommen. Die chinesischen Jets seien mit Raketen bestückt gewesen, sagte Onodera dem Fernsehsender Asahi. [Weiterlesen]

China Fighters Within Meters of Japan Military Planes: Minister

25.05.2014 By Kiyoshi Takenaka, Osamu Tsukimori & Paul Carsten (The Jakarta Globe) - Chinese fighter jets flew within a few dozen meters of Japanese military planes over the East China Sea, Japanese officials said on Sunday, prompting the defense minister to accuse Beijing of going “over the top” in its approach to disputed territory.

Chinese SU-27 fighters came as close as 50 meters to a Japanese OP-3C surveillance plane near disputed islets on Saturday and within 30 meters of YS-11EB electronic intelligence aircraft, the ministry said.

“Closing in while flying normally over the high seas is impossible,” Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters in comments broadcast on TV Asahi.

“This is a close encounter that is outright over the top.”

Onodera said Japan conveyed its concerns to the Chinese side through diplomatic channels. He also said the Chinese planes were carrying missiles. [read more]

Japan, Vietnam: Solution based on intl. law needed

25.05.2014 (NHK World) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam say a peaceful resolution based on international law is needed for the tensions in the South China Sea.

They met in Tokyo on Thursday. Dam relayed a message from Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung welcoming Abe's policy of proactive contribution to peace. [read more]

China-Vietnam Sea Spat Heats Up

25.05.2014 By Wendell Minnick (DefenseNews) - TAIPEI — Thucydides, the Greek historian who penned the story of the Peloponnesian War, wrote that “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”

The quote might be an appropriate description of what Vietnam is suffering after the placement of a Chinese mega oil rig off its coast this month.

Martin Murphy, author of the forthcoming book, “Littoral Warfare: Navies Confront the 21st-Century,” said the appearance of the oil rig “in Vietnamese waters” was “predictable.” He said Beijing has long viewed oil rigs as “mobile national territory” and warned that the US must stop viewing Chinese companies as separate entities from the Chinese Communist Party. [read more]

“Comment Crew“, “Beijing Group“: Chinas Hacker-Kollektive im Fokus

24.05.2014 (derStandard) - Erst kürzlich klagte ein US-Gericht chinesische Militärmitarbeiter aufgrund angeblicher Cyberspionage. Viel ist nicht über die Hacker-Brigade der Chinesen bekannt, einige Interviews mit Experten und ehemalige Hackern ermöglichen jedoch ein klareres Bild. So soll ein Großteil der Hacker des Militärs zwischen zwanzig und dreißig Jahre alt sein und ihr Wissen direkt auf Universitäten der Volksbefreiungsarmee erhalten haben. ... Eine weitere Gruppe namens “Kunming Group“ soll außerdem hauptsächlich Angriffe auf Vietnam durchführen. Die Beziehungen zwischen China und dem Nachbarland sollen sich in den vergangen Jahren deutlich verschlechtert haben, [Weiterlesen]

Philippines: Using A Weapon Of Mass Distraction Against China

24.05.2014 (Strategy Page) - Vietnam now wants to join the Philippines in taking China to court over South China Sea disputes. In March the Philippines took its China dispute to the Permanent Court of Arbitration. This could result in a legal decision by 2015 but China has indicated that it will not abide by any such ruling. Challenging such a decision exposes China to trade sanctions, which would stall economic growth and create a recession that would cause unrest. Chinese leaders are eager to avoid that and are hostile to Vietnam going to an international court. Thus China made nasty noises when Japan recently expressed an interest in joining the Philippines and Vietnam in taking China to court over the South China Sea disputes. Japan is a much bigger threat here because, as a major industrial power and trading nation Japan in better able to lead a call for international sanctions against Chinese aggression. Such sanctions are the one countermeasure China is least prepared to cope with. Sanctions on a major economic power like China are, however, extremely dangerous to the global economy. [read more]

China’s Push in the South China Sea Divides the Region

24.05.2014 By Murray Hiebert (The Epoch Times) - China’s Push in the South China Sea Divides the Region

As China brings in a $1 billion oil exploration rig, parking it in a disputed region of the South China Sea and unleashing a deadly anti-China protest in Vietnam, nearby Southeast Asian neighbors appear relatively mute and impotent. Burma (also known as Myanmar), which hosted the meeting of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, released a statement May 11 expressing “serious concerns over ongoing developments in the South China Sea.” The statement said the leaders had called for restraint and peaceful resolution of the dispute, but without mentioning China.

This is remarkable, as Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung had warned his ASEAN colleagues at the meeting that China’s “extremely dangerous action had been directly endangering peace, stability, security, and marine safety.” [read more]

Cambodian Officials Speculate Vietnam Protests Could Shift Chinese Investment

24.05.2014 (Canada Standard) - Cambodian officials say their country could benefit economically from violent anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam.

In addition to two deaths and dozens of injuries, the riots damaged dozens of foreign owned factories in Vietnam, including many owned by Chinese businesses.

Ken Ratha, a spokesman for Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce, said the violence may push some Chinese investors towards Cambodia. [read more]

Could the Viet Violence Against China Turn Against Hanoi?

23.05.2014 Written by Khanh Vu Duc (Asia Sentinel) - The government has to be worried that the next target won’t be a Chinese drillship

It was a little more than two weeks ago when Chinese state-owned corporation CNOOC moved an oil rig into contested waters off the Vietnamese coast for “exploratory work” at the behest of Beijing.

Not surprisingly, Hanoi was less than receptive to the oil rig’s new home, which it pointed out was located within Vietnam’s 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone. A wave of anti-China sentiment spread across the country that saw riots take place in Vietnam’s industrial parks outside the former city of Saigon and Ha Tinh province, which left two Chinese workers dead and hundreds wounded. Other firsthand and eyewitness accounts place those killed between 13 and 21, and mostly Chinese. [read more]

China-Vietnam Maritime Dispute Tests US Pivot to Asia

23.05.2014 Scott Stearns (VOA) - The standoff over a Chinese oil rig in disputed waters off Vietnam is testing the Obama administration's so-called pivot of military and diplomatic assets to Asia.

Vietnam says the oil rig threatens freedom of navigation and regional peace.

"China's illegal placement of the oil rig and deployment of escort vessels to protect the rig deep into Vietnam's continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone seriously threatens peace, stability and maritime security," said Vietnam’s prime minister, Nguyen Tan Dung.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei accused Vietnam of fueling tensions by questioning his country’s sovereignty.

The standoff is part of China pushing back against a bigger U.S. presence in the Pacific, according to Hillary Mann Leverett, a foreign policy expert and senior adjunct at American University. [read more]

Vietnam Faces ‘Finlandization’ from China

22.05.2014 Written by David Brown (Asia Sentinel) - A tame and timid ASEAN makes things worse

These last few weeks, China has extracted a great deal of satisfaction from the disarray of those who would curb its territorial ambitions in the seas stretching south from Hainan Island. Its deployment of the deep sea oil drilling rig Haiyang 981 into disputed waters off Vietnam's coast was tactically brilliant.

Yes, Beijing has been generally condemned as an aggressor. How can the rig's deployment not be regarded, as an American spokesman put it, as "provocative…part of a broader pattern of Chinese behavior to advance its claims over disputed territory in a manner that undermines peace and stability."

The question is what, if anything, can be done about it. [read more]

PH, Indonesia urge China to settle row peacefully

24.05.2014 by RG Cruz (ABS-CBN News) - MANILA - Yudhoyono: Maritime accord with PH a model for resolving border disputes. After joining Vietnam in condemning China's incursions, the Philippines now has a conciliatory tone and joined Indonesia on Friday in calling for a peaceful resolution of disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

This as the Philippines and Indonesia signed 3 agreements on Friday, one of which is an agreement delimiting the conflicting exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the Philippines and Indonesia in the Mindanao, Celebes, and Philippine Seas that are shared by the 2 countries.

The agreement was one of those signed as Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife, Ani Bambang Yudhoyono, went to Malacanang for a state visit. [read more]

Hanoi No Longer Confronting Chinese Ships

23.05.2014 Tra Mi (VOA) - Vu Hoang Lan, founder of California-based PhoBolsaTV, recently visited the area on board Vietnamese ships. He said in an interview with VOA's Vietnamese Service that Hanoi has shifted gears and is no longer confronting Chinese ships.

"The Vietnamese people that I spoke with, fishermen and law-enforcement personnel, they are very upset because they have to give up and run away within their own territory when being chased by Chinese forces. Nevertheless, they have no other choices given Hanoi’s policies," said Lan. [read more]

Philippines, Vietnam Reject Xi's Warning Against Military Alliances

23.05.2014 By Tyler Roney (The Diplomat) - Vietnam and the Philippines are growing closer together over Beijing’s claims and provocations. “To beef up military alliances targeted at a third party is not conducive to maintaining common security in the region,” Xi Jingping said at Shanghai’s CICA, a veiled reference to military alliances forming to stop China’s expansion in the South China Sea. But Vietnam and the Philippines were not listening; Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stated in Manila on Wednesday that both his country and the Philippines “are determined to oppose China’s violations,” with a view to strengthening diplomatic and defense ties to keep China at bay.

With other diplomatic endeavors falling flat and China’s seemingly perpetual stranglehold over the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Vietnam and the Philippines have few options left in curbing China’s expansion. However, considering China’s constant spats with many of its neighbors and endless claims to territory, this could be a novel way to combat China’s expansion. [read more]

Anti-China woman immolates self in Vietnam

24.05.2014 (The Gulf Today) - AFP - HANOI: A Vietnamese woman committed suicide by setting herself on fire in an apparent protest against China’s placement of an oil rig in contested waters that has aroused deep anger in Vietnam, state media reported Friday.

Le Thi Tuyet Mai, 67, doused herself with petrol and set it alight in front of the landmark Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City early on Friday, the website of the Thanh Nien newspaper quoted an official in the city as saying.

“The fire was extinguished by security guards there after three minutes, but the woman died,” the official, Le Truong Hai Hieu, said. The report said authorities found a can of petrol at the scene and a note in which Mai expressed indignation over the Chinese oil rig and called for its removal.

Hieu said Mai set herself on fire over personal problems “and her anger over China’s illegal placement of the oil rig in violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty.” [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Woman denouncing China sets self on fire, dies

23.05.2014 (news24) Reuters - Hanoi - A Vietnamese woman carrying banners denouncing China's claim to most of the South China Sea died on Friday after setting herself on fire in front of a landmark in the country's largest city, local government officials said

The 67-year-old woman set herself ablaze at about 06:00 in front of the Independence Palace, once the headquarters of the US-backed South Vietnamese government, in Ho Chi Minh City, Le Truong Hai Hieu, a senior city official, said by telephone.

The woman's family and local officials said they believed the suicide was inspired by her anger at the Chinese action compounded by personal problems. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnamese Woman Self-Immolates to Protest China’s Oil Drilling

23.05.2014 By Associated Press (The Epoch Times) - HANOI, Vietnam—A 67-year-old Vietnamese woman died after setting herself on fire in downtown Ho Chi Minh City on Friday in protest against China’s deployment of an oil rig in waters claimed by Hanoi, state media reported.

The woman self-immolated in front Reunification Palace around 6 a.m., Thanh Nien newspaper reported.

News of the self-immolation spread quickly on the Internet. Thanh Nien ran a cell phone clip purportedly showing the incident and motor cyclists looking on. The paper said the woman came to the palace by taxi and set herself on fire before guards there could react. By the time they did, her injuries were fatal. [read more]

Una mujer se inmola en protesta contra la invasión china de suelo vietnamita

23.05.2014 (La Voz de Galicia) - Una anciana vietnamita ha muerto este viernes tras prenderse fuego en la ciudad de Ho Chi Minh en una protesta contra las reivindicaciones soberanistas de Pekín en el mar de la China meridional, según fuentes de las autoridades locales.

La mujer, de 67 años, se ha inmolado a primera hora de la mañana junto al Palacio de la Independencia, otrora sede del Gobierno de Vietnam del Sur. Según un portavoz del Gobierno local, Le Truong Hai Hieu, portaba pancartas en las que podía leerse «Contra China en el mar de Vietnam» y «Bendigo a la Policía marítima de Vietnam».

La familia de la fallecida y las autoridades han atribuido la acción no solo al malestar de índole política, sino también a problemas personales. Hieu ha reconocido que este suicido podría derivar en otras «acciones de copia». [seguir leyendo] - [tiếng Việt]

Une Vietnamienne s'immole par le feu pour protester contre la Chine

23.05.2014 (Skynet) - Belga - Une Vietnamienne est morte vendredi dans le sud du Vietnam après s'être immolée par le feu pour protester contre le déploiement d'une plate-forme pétrolière chinoise dans des eaux contestées en mer de Chine méridionale, a indiqué la presse officielle.

Cette femme de 67 ans, identifiée comme Le Thi Tuyet Mai, s'est immolée par le feu vendredi matin devant le Palais de la Réunification de Ho Chi Minh-Ville (ex-Saïgon), a précisé le quotidien en ligne Thanh Nien citant un responsable local. "Le feu a été éteint par les gardes de sécurité au bout de trois minutes, mais elle est morte", a ajouté le journal. [en savoir plus] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnamesin protestiert mit Selbstverbrennung gegen China

Teil antichinesischer Massenproteste in Vietnam

23.05.2014 (Die Welt) - Als Teil der antichinesischen Massenproteste in Vietnam hat sich eine Vietnamesin am Freitag in Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt selbst verbrannt. Wie staatliche vietnamesische Medien berichteten [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Aus Protest gegen GewässerstreitFrau in Vietnam zündet sich selbst an

23.05.2014 (n-tv) - In Vietnam hat sich eine Frau Medienberichten zufolge selbst angezündet. Neben der Leiche der 67-Jährigen vor dem Wiedervereinigungspalast in Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt sei eine handschriftliche Notiz mit anti-chinesischen Slogans gefunden worden, berichtete die Zeitung "Tuoi Tre" unter Berufung auf Behördenangaben. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

China baut künstliche Insel im Südchinesischen Meer

23.05.2014 Von Wolfgang Greber (DiePresse.com) - n den mittlerweile Jahrzehnte andauernden Gebietsstreitigkeiten zwischen den Anrainerstaaten des Südchinesischen Meers, die zuletzt zwischen China und Vietnam wegen einer chinesischen Ölbohrinsel eskalierten, schafft die mächtige Volksrepublik einfach neue Fakten: Ein kleines Riff der Spratly-Inseln, einer weit verstreuten Inselgruppe im Süden des Südchinesischen Meers, wird von den Chinesen zu einer "richtigen" Insel mit diversen Befestigungen ausgebaut und dürfte sogar Standort einer Flugpiste werden. Damit etabliert China seine Position in der Region weiter, sehr zum Ärger der Nachbarn dort. [Weiterlesen]

Rohstoff-Ansprüche: Streit um Seegebiet - China baut künstliche Insel

22.05.2014 (Spiegel Online) Hamburg - China, Vietnam und die Philippinen streiten um Inseln im Südchinesischen Meer. Peking untermauert seine Gebietsansprüche jetzt auf drastische Art - und lässt eine künstliche Insel anlegen.

Erst vor wenigen Tagen war es in Vietnam zu antichinesischen Krawallen gekommen, nachdem Peking eine Ölplattform vor der Küste Vietnams stationiert hatte. Mehrere Menschen wurden teils schwer verletzt, Chinas Regierung ließ Tausende Landsleute aus Vietnam in Sicherheit bringen. Auslöser der Unruhen war, dass China eine Tiefseebohrplattform vor die Paracel-Inselgruppe verlegt hatte.

Jetzt stellt sich heraus, dass Peking nicht nur schwimmendes Gerät einsetzt, um seine Ansprüche zu betonen: Luft- und Satellitenbilder zeigen, dass China in den vergangenen Monaten mitten in der umstrittenen Spratly-Inselgruppe ein künstliches Eiland angelegt hat. [Weiterlesen]

Des centaines d'arrestations après des émeutes antichinoises au Vietnam

22.05.2014 (Liberation) - Plusieurs centaines de personnes ont été arrêtées au Vietnam à la suite des émeutes antichinoises ayant fait quatre morts et une centaine de blessés selon Pékin, a annoncé jeudi le gouvernement vietnamien, promettant que les auteurs des violences seraient sévèrement punis.

«Le gouvernement vietnamien a circonscrit les violations de la loi et châtiera sévèrement les auteurs de ces violations conformément à la loi», a assuré le premier ministre Nguyen Tan Dung dans un discours lors d'une conférence économique à Manille. [en savoir plus]

Protestas contra China por controversia sobre plataforma petrolera se propagan en Vietnam

22.05.2014 Escrito por Mong Palatino, Traducido por Cecilia Cárdenas (Global Voices) - Las protestas contra la decisión de China de emplazar una plataforma petrolera ‘dentro’ de las aguas territoriales de Vietnam en el mar de China Meridional se han agravado. Según Vietnam, la plataforma petrolera [en] china conocida como Haiyang Shiyou 98 se encuentra 80 millas náuticas dentro de la zona económica exclusiva de Vietnam. El gobierno vietnamita le está exigiendo a China el retiro de la plataforma y de su escolta [en] formada por más de 80 buques de guerra.

La plataforma petrolera china encendió un explosivo movimiento de protesta en todo Vietnam. En ocasiones las acciones se tornaron violentas, como cuando trabajadores provocaron el incendio de fábricas de origen chino en las provincias del Sur. Sin embargo, muchas de esas fábricas resultaron ser propiedad de inversores taiwaneses y coreanos.

Para controlar la situación, los funcionarios policiales informaron haber arrestado [en] a 1,000 personas por los violentos incidentes. China, por su parte, evacuó [en] a muchos de sus ciudadanos fuera del país y suspendió [en] la vigencia de algunos tratados bilaterales que había firmado con Vietnam. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam asks world to condemn China for making ‘extremely dangerous’ situation in disputed sea

22.05.2014 By Jim Gomez, The Associated Press (The Lethbridge Herald) - MANILA, Philippines – Vietnam’s prime minister on Wednesday called on the world to condemn China for causing what he called an “extremely dangerous” situation in the disputed South China Sea, citing Beijing’s recent deployment of an oil rig near an island that both countries claim.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, standing beside the Philippine president after they held talks in Manila, said both of their countries would strengthen defenceco-operation and were determined to oppose Chinese violations of international law. He cited Beijing’s May 1 deployment of an oil rig in waters near the Paracel Islands, also claimed by Vietnam. [read more]

Schulterschluss mit Peking: Moskau will Präsenz im Pazifik verstärken

22.05.2014 Von Elke Windisch (Der Tagesspiegel) - Der Raketenkreuzer „Warjag“ – das Flaggschiff der russischen Pazifikflotte – führte den Konvoi an, der Sonntag ins Ostchinesische Meer einlief. Ihm folgten unter anderem ein Zerstörer, ein großes U-Boot-Abwehrschiff und zwei Versorgungsschiffe.  „Maritimes Zusammenwirken 2014“ heißt die Demonstration der Stärke. Bei der Übung stellen beide Seiten gemischte Schiffsverbände auf, die Kampfhandlungen auf hoher See durchspielen.

Mit Vietnam, so der Diplomat, verhandle Russland bereits über die Wiedereröffnung der sowjetischen Marinebasis in Cam Ranh. Aus gutem Grund: Im Stillen Ozean standen sich schon zu Zeiten der Blockkonfrontation die Seestreitkräfte der USA und der Sowjetunion direkt gegenüber. [Weiterlesen]

China schafft extrem gefährliche Situation

22.05.2014 (NZZ) - (dpa) Vietnam und die Philippinen haben China aufgefordert, sein als aggressiv kritisiertes Gebaren im Südchinesischen Meer sofort zu stoppen. China habe eine «extrem gefährliche Situation» in den umstrittenen Gewässern geschaffen, erklärten die Regierungschefs Vietnams und der Philippinen, Nguyen Tan Dung und Benigno Aquino, am Mittwoch in Manila. Auslöser des Konflikts ist eine Ölplattform, die China Anfang Mai vor Vietnams Küste errichtet hatte.

Das Gebiet im Südchinesischen Meer wird auch von Vietnam beansprucht. Die Philippinen ihrerseits werfen China vor, Landgewinnung in dem von Manila beanspruchten Johnson-Riff zu betreiben. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam prüft Verteidigungsvarianten gegen China nach Skandal mit Erdölplattform - Agentur

22.05.2014 (RIA Novosti) - Die vietnamesische Regierung prüft laut Premier Nguyen Tan Dung nach einem Skandal mit der Unterbringung einer chinesischen Erdölplattform im Raum der umstrittenen Paracel-Inseln im Südchinesischen Meer verschiedene Verteidigungsvarianten, darunter die Verhandlung vor Gericht, meldet Reuters.

„Vietnam prüft verschiedene Verteidigungsvarianten, darunter  Verhandlung vor Gericht in Übereinstimmung mit dem Völkerrecht“, sagte Dung. Der Premierminister nannte jedoch keine anderen Varianten, zu denen Vietnam greifen könnte. [Weiterlesen] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam PM says considering legal action against China over disputed waters

22.05.2014 By Rosemarie Francisco and Manuel Mogato (Reuters) MANILA - Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said his government was considering various "defense options" against China, including legal action, following the deployment of a Chinese oil rig to waters in the South China Sea that Hanoi also claims.

Dung's comments, given in a written response to questions from Reuters, are the first time he has suggested Vietnam would take legal measures, a threat likely to infuriate Beijing.

"Vietnam is considering various defense options, including legal actions in accordance with international law," Dung said in an email sent late on Wednesday, while on a visit to Manila. He did not elaborate on the other options being considered. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Mer de Chine: le Vietnam menace Pékin de poursuites

22.05.2014 (Radio Canada) - HAE (Reuters) - Le Vietnam pourrait intenter une action juridique contre la Chine en raison de l'installation d'une plateforme pétrolière chinoise dans des eaux revendiquées par les deux pays, écrit le premier ministre vietnamien dans un courriel adressé à l'agence de presse Reuters.

La menace d'une action juridique, que le Vietnam n'avait pas agitée jusqu'à présent, risque de susciter la colère de la Chine, déjà visée par un recours des Philippines devant les instances internationales. [en savoir plus] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam offers help to riot-hit companies

22.05.2014 (Associated Press) - HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Vietnam has offered tax breaks for companies whose factories were damaged or destroyed during anti-Chinese riots last week.

The move shows Hanoi in damage control mode and trying to limit the fallout from the rioting, which dented Vietnam's reputation as a low-risk country for foreign manufacturers.

A government statement late Wednesday said businesses hit by the riots would be entitled to a reduction of up to 30 percent in a special consumption tax and reduced import and export tariffs. Rents will also be reduced or waived for companies with damaged factories, the statement said [read more]

Rumours in Vietnam blame outside forces for deadly anti-Chinese riots

21.05.2014 Satish Cheney and Patrick Boehler in Ho Chi Minh City (South China Morning Post) - Vietnam is awash with theories that outside forces, possibly with a murky pro-China agenda, orchestrated last week's deadly anti-China riots.

Although the identity of the supposed masterminds remains a subject of debate, few seem willing to believe that the violence that claimed four Chinese lives and injured scores of workers erupted spontaneously.

Dinh Hoang Thang, a retired diplomat who has criticised China over the maritime territorial conflict, said the riots should not be viewed as an escalation of anti-China sentiment but rather as an attempt to smear the leadership in Hanoi.

Tuong Vu, associate professor of political science at the University of Oregon, said the anti-China riots had actually served to strengthen pro-China elements in Vietnam. [read more]

Few barriers seen to China's assertiveness in South China Sea as nations shun joint action

21.05.2014 By Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press (U.S. News & World Report) - Beijing (AP) — China's planting of an oil platform in contested waters off Vietnam drew robust complaints from Hanoi, a messy standoff between ships and violent protests among Vietnamese — but nothing to dislodge the rig and no broader pushback in the region.

Southeast Asian countries, with diverging interests and wariness of angering Beijing, are shunning any collective action that might halt China as it relentlessly nudges forward its sovereignty claims in disputed seas seen as a possible flashpoint for the world's next major conflict.

Despite its accusations of Chinese bullying, Vietnam can expect little in the way of outside help as its patrol boats continue to spar with Chinese vessels guarding the rig in the South China Sea. [read more]

Vietnam insists on withdrawal of China oil rig, vessels

21.05.2014 (The Manila Times) - HANOI: Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh yesterday said Vietnam had held 20 direct meetings with China over the oil rig issue. Minh said Vietnam had consistently asked for the removal of the rig and all Chinese vessels, which he said had been placed illegally in Vietnamese waters since the beginning of May.

On Monday, China kept more than 90 ships of various kinds around the Haiyang Shiyou-981 rig.

Several of them kept approaching and attacking Vietnamese ships, according to the Vietnam Coast Guard High Command. [read more]

El conflicto de Vietnam llega tarde a China por culpa de censores de Internet

21.05.2014 Escrito por Oiwan Lam, Traducido por Juan Diego Fernández Rosado (Global Voices Español) - En las dos primeras semanas de mayo, se han reportado en varias ocasiones colisiones entre barcos de China continental y de Vietnam. Los incidentes se han producido en una zona del mar de la China Meridional, donde está surgiendo el conflicto en torno a una plataforma petrolífera que China está intentando instalar a pesar de la oposición de Vietnam.

Pero, ¿qué opinan los chinos? Pues según señaló [en] el bloguero de South Sea Conversations, en las páginas web de China, donde la censura es una realidad, no ha surgido el debate en torno a la plataforma petrolífera. Es más, incluso después de los ataques por parte de los manifestantes vietnamitas a las empresas chinas en Vietnam, las autoridades continuaron dando instrucciones [en] a los medios de comunicación locales, prohibiéndoles informar sobre estos sucesos. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam's turmoil: what caused rioters to level plants owned by foreigners?

21.05.2014 (The Korea Times) - The riots and attacks in Vietnam on foreign-owned plants, ostensibly in response to China's having installed a drilling rig in waters of the South China Sea that both countries claim, is a curious development.

China and Vietnam fought a brief but bitter border war in 1979 and much of Vietnam's history, apart from the French colonial period and its war with the United States, has been an effort to keep from being dominated by China, its huge neighbor. [read more]

Taipei sends delegation to seek compensation from Vietnam

21.05.2014 Lawrence Chung in Taipei (South China Morning Post) - Taiwan's vice-minister of economic affairs, Shen Jong-chin, is leading a delegation to Vietnam today to help Taiwanese firms seek compensation from authorities there for damages incurred in deadly anti-China riots.

"The delegation is part of the government's efforts to show concern to our businessmen who suffered losses in last week's riots and to actively assist them in fighting for their rights and benefits according to their various needs," Vice-Premier Mao Chi-kuo said in Taipei yesterday.[read more]

Chinese firm says Vietnam riot killed four employees

21.05.2014 (South China Morning Post) - Four employees of a state-owned Chinese company died in a riot in Vietnam, the firm said, doubling the previously announced toll with tensions simmering over a territorial dispute between the two countries. [read more]

Cuatro empleados de empresa china MCC murieron durante protestas en Vietnam

21.05.2014 (Univision) - Pekín, 21 may (EFE).- La Corporación Metalúrgica de China (MCC en sus siglas en inglés) ha confirmado que cuatro de sus empleados que trabajaban en un proyecto de construcción murieron durante las violentas protestas antichinas de la semana pasada en la provincia vietnamita de Ha Tinh (centro del país).

Esta cifra, que se anunció en un comunicado remitido a la bolsa de Hong Kong a última hora del martes, duplica el número de muertes que oficialmente habían confirmado las autoridades vietnamitas y chinas. [seguir leyendo]

South China Sea claimants must steel themselves against a more aggressive China

20.05.2014 Simon Tay and Nicholas Fang (South China Morning Post) - We now know Vietnam's immediate reaction to China's steps to begin drilling for oil in an area of the South China Sea that both sides claim. More than 20,000 Vietnamese workers ran amok at two Singapore-run industrial parks, attacking factories that they believed to be Chinese-owned.

With reports of deaths and many injuries, other manufacturers have been closing as a precaution. Global supply chains have felt the effects and Hanoi has wisely asserted domestic order.

But will the conflict escalate? Must Vietnam be the only one to protest or should others respond, too?

History testifies to the real dangers of conflict between China and Vietnam. The two neighbours fought over the Paracel Islands in 1974, when China took control and more than 50 Vietnamese were killed. They clashed again along their border in 1979. Anti-China street protests have grown visibly in recent years, demonstrating nationalistic fervour. [read more]

Vietnam and China lock horns over South China Sea row

20.05.2014 (InterAksyon) - AFP - NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar - Vietnamese and Chinese officials have locked horns over a maritime dispute that sparked deadly rioting in Vietnam, with Hanoi's defense minister Tuesday saying the neighbors have yet to reach any agreement.

Tensions remain high in the region after an eruption of anti-China rage in Vietnam over Beijing's controversial plans to drill for oil in contested waters, in which angry mobs last week attacked hundreds of foreign-owned businesses, killing two Chinese nationals. [read more]

China, Vietnam defense chiefs fail to narrow gap

20.05.2014 (NHK) - The defense chiefs of China and Vietnam have failed to narrow the 2 countries' differences over China's attempts to drill for oil in a disputed part of the South China Sea.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency says Defense Minister Chang Wanquan met Vietnam's Phung Quang Thanh in Myanmar's capital Naypwidaw on Monday. [read more] 

Putin in China, Vietnam worries

20.05.2014 (Bangkok Post) - BEIJING (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in China on Tuesday for joint naval exercises and a meeting with President Xi Jinping as both seek to build ties in the face of Western criticism and territorial disputes.

Putin is visiting the country for the first time since Xi became head of state last year and the trip could see a huge and long-awaited natural gas deal finally signed.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Shanghai early Tuesday to start his state visit," China's official news agency Xinhua said. His warm messages to China worried Vietnam, which received massive military aid from Moscow during the war against the US. [read more]

Editorials: Targeted Nations Should Defy Chinese Bullying

20.05.2014 (The New Indian Express) - China’s recent fracas with Vietnam signals its growing assertiveness. Without any provocation, a Chinese vessel rammed into a few Vietnamese vessels in the latter’s territorial waters in the South China Sea. The Chinese even used water canons against the Vietnamese personnel injuring many. China has deployed an oil rig in the area in wanton violation of international laws. The Philippines and Japan have been at the receiving end of China’s muscular defence strategy aimed at controlling the South China Sea. Surprisingly, it has been getting away with its wily policy much to the chagrin of nations like India. [read more]

Editorial: The anti-Chinese riots

20.05.2014 (The Jakarta Post) - The violent anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam last week serve as a “warm-up” to a much more serious military confrontation among the South China Sea claimants, especially China, Vietnam and the Philippines, as there are no indications that the conflicting states are willing to adopt internationally accepted norms of peaceful settlement.

In December 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia to topple the brutal Pol Pot regime, one fully backed by China. Two months later, China invaded Vietnam to teach its neighbor a “lesson”.

Most ASEAN members stand head and shoulder vis-à-vis China because their economies are very dependent on China. But despite all the imbalances, China and other claimants to the territory should remember that no state could bear the burden resulting from the use of military force to achieve its goals. They are playing with fire. [read more]

China 'playing victim' over evacuation effort following Vietnam riots

20.05.2014 (SCMP) Watched over by riot police, more than 3,000 Chinese workers left Vietnam on Monday on ships chartered by their government after deadly unrest broke out last week amid a dispute over sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.

The decision to evacuate workers by sea will play well in China, where the government is under pressure to look after its citizens abroad. [read more]

China hits out at Asean over South China Sea issue

20.05.2014 (The Asian Age) - China on Monday lashed out at the Asean for backing Vietnam over tensions in the South China Sea sparked by Beijing’s deployment of an oil rig in disputed waters and asked the 10-member grouping to stay neutral to avoid “detrimental” impact on bilateral ties.

Chinese foreign ministry Spokesman Hong Lei sharply criticised Asean secretary-general Le Luong Minh’s comments that China has encroached upon Vietnam’s territorial integrity and violated the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. [read more]

China Miscalculates with its Drill Rig

19.05.2014 Written by Bill Hayton (Asia Sentinel) - Has Beijing Overreached in the South China Sea?

What has China achieved by sending its deepwater drilling rig into the waters off the Paracel Islands?

In one single act it has managed to rupture relations with its brother communists in Vietnam, incensed Vietnamese popular opinion, generated gigabytes of critical international media coverage, revived the “China Threat” discourse in Southeast Asia and unified ASEAN behind a statement critical of its actions. At least 3,000 Chinese have been forced to flee Vietnam ahead of furious mobs who set fire to scores of factories, not discriminating between Taiwanese Chinese and Chinese Chinese. And for what?

There is always a chance that the rig might strike oil, but the chances are slim. It’s possible that CNOOC may have access to seismic surveys of the area but it seems more likely that the drill-site was chosen for geopolitical rather than geophysical reasons. No other oilfields have yet been discovered near the Paracels. [read more]

Au lendemain des émeutes, un dérapage contrôlé ?

19.05.2014 Christine Chaumeau & Agnès Gaudu (Courrier international) - Après les émeutes contre les Chinois qui ont fait au moins 2 morts et 140 blessés, et d’importants dégâts matériels dans des usines, Hanoï tente de rassurer les investisseurs étrangers en décrétant le retour à l’ordre. Plus de 1 000 personnes ont été arrêtées, annonce le quotidien de Hô Chi Minh-Ville Thanh Niên. Mais les émeutes sont attribuées à des "gangs criminels, recherchés depuis longtemps par la police.

Après les émeutes contre les Chinois qui ont fait au moins 2 morts et 140 blessés, et d’importants dégâts matériels dans des usines, Hanoï tente de rassurer les investisseurs étrangers en décrétant le retour à l’ordre. Plus de 1 000 personnes ont été arrêtées, annonce le quotidien de Hô Chi Minh-Ville Thanh Niên. Mais les émeutes sont attribuées à des "gangs criminels, recherchés depuis longtemps par la police. [en savoir plus]

Was braut sich da in Asien zusammen?

19.05.2014 (BILD) - Gemeinsame russisch-chinesische Manöver und eine bevorstehende Sympathietour des russischen Präsidenten in Shanghai – dem Westen missfällt das sehr. Gleichzeitig hilft China Tausenden Landsleuten nach anti-chinesischen Krawallen in Vietnam zurück in die Heimat. Und dann sorgt auch noch Japan mit der Nachricht für Unruhe, man werde auf entlegenen Inseln Militärstützpunkte gründen – neue Nahrung im Territorialstreit mit China.

China erhält nach Einschätzung von Experten derzeit Rückenwind ausgerechnet durch die Ereignisse in der Ukraine. „China ist der große Gewinner der Ukraine-Krise. In Folge der westlichen Sanktionspolitik rückt Russland wirtschaftlich, militärisch und geostrategisch näher an China heran“, schreibt Moritz Rudolf vom Berliner „Mercator Institute for China Studies“ (MERICS) in einer Studie. [Weiterlesen]

Chinese flee Vietnam as Hanoi counts cost of riots

19.05.2014 (The Guardian) - Nearly 1,000 Chinese citizens have fled Vietnam by sea, as Hanoi stifled fresh protests over a territorial dispute and foreign investors counted the cost of last week's riots.

Hanoi initially lauded "patriotic" displays by its citizens, but backpedalled after the violence – which affected a number of non-Chinese facilities – badly stained the country's image as a safe destination for sorely needed foreign investment.

Activist groups have said several of their members were detained as they sought to demonstrate. Their status was unknown on Monday. [read more]

China 'testing' ASEAN's solidarity with Vietnam

15.05.2014 Rodion Ebbighausen/Shamil Shams (Deutsche Welle) - Violent protests have erupted in Vietnam against the deployment of a Chinese oil rig to disputed waters. Southeast Asia expert Gerhard Will tells DW why the agitation could prove to be a double-edged sword for Hanoi.

In a DW interview, Southeast Asia expert Gerhard Will says that Beijing is testing the solidarity of members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with Vietnam and examining how much US support Hanoi can rely upon. [read more]

Pourquoi la Chine et le Vietnam sont au bord de la guerre

19.05.2014 Pierre Haski (Le nouvel Observateur) - Ce sont des images qui font monter les sentiments nationalistes : la télévision d’Etat chinoise CCTV a montré lundi les premières victimes des émeutes antichinoises au Vietnam, rapatriées en Chine. Des hommes sur des civières ou au visage tuméfié, après une flambée de violences contre des usines chinoises dans une zone industrielle près de Ho Chi Minh-Ville.

Cette plateforme, une énorme installation coûtant un bon milliard de dollars, est accompagnée d’un imposant déploiement de la marine de guerre chinoise, faisant ressurgir le risque d’une confrontation militaire entre ces deux pays qui se sont déjà fait la guerre en 1979 (à cause de l’intervention vietnamienne au Cambodge), puis brièvement en 1988 (cette fois à propos des îles contestées de mer de Chine méridionale). [en savoir plus]

Anti-chinese riots underscore anxiety about Beijing's territorial claims

19.05.2014 (Bangkok Post) - Escalating tensions between China and Vietnam, which exploded into violence last week, are expected to have some impact on the overall growth of Vietnam as investors grow worried about conditions...

The worst civil unrest in recent years in Vietnam, if not dealt with in a timely manner, could harm trade relations between the two countries, as well as discourage future foreign investment in Vietnam.

While Chinese-owned businesses bore the brunt of the protesters’ anger, businesses owned by Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, Singaporean and even Thai investors came under threat. The government now faces a major damage-control exercise [read more]

Foreign manufacturers maintain faith in Vietnam despite riots

19.05.2014 By Nguyen Phuong Linh and Donny Kwok (Reuters) - May 19 (Reuters) - Most large companies operating in industrial parks hit by anti-China riots in Vietnam last week have resumed operations, underscoring the irresistible pull of the country as a low-cost manufacturing hub with a relatively skilled workforce.

Manufacturing has increasingly shifted away from China in recent years as wages there are climbing and there is a growing shortage of labour. The speed with which companies have returned to work in Vietnam's industrial parks, which were the focus of rioting just last week, demonstrates the economic draw of doing business in the country, despite the risks. [read more]

Mar Chino meridional: después de las violencias, Beijing evacua a miles de trabajadores de Vietnam

19.05.2014 (AsiaNews) - Hanói - Beijing organizó un vuelo de emergencia, repatriar a un grupo de 16 trabajadores chino que estaban heridos gravemente durante los asaltos de los días pasados de los nacionalistas vietnamitas contra las fábricas extranjeras en el centro del País. Mientras tanto el ministerio chino de Transporte dispuso el envío de otras 5 embarcaciones, para completar la obra de evacuación de sus propios ciudadanos de la zona. Arriesga el acuerdo firmado el año pasado entre Beijing y Hanói, que fijaba en 60 billones de dólares el volumen total del comercio bilateral entre los dos Países para alcanzar antes de 2015. El ministerio chino de Exteriores anunció la suspensión de algunos programas conjuntos, invitando a sus connacionales a evitar viajes al país vecino. [seguir leyendo]

Taiwan company to seek riot damages from Vietnam

19.05.2014 (Channel NewsAsia) - TAIPEI: Taiwanese company Formosa Plastics Group on Monday said it will seek compensation from the Vietnam government after anti-China riots caused damage to its Vietnam facilities.

The company did not provide a figure for damages incurred when unrest broke out over a territorial dispute.

Rioters had set ablaze a steel mill in Ha Tinh province, which is owned by Formosa. According to the company workers also "attacked some Chinese workers and damaged offices and equipment". [read more]

In der Flugbahn des Bumerangs

18.05.2014 Till Fähnders (FAZ) - Nach anti-chinesischen Krawallen in Vietnam sind 3000 Chinesen in ihre Heimat geflohen. Weitere Proteste will die Regierung vorerst nicht zulassen. Auch aus Sorge davor, dass die Demokratiebewegung stärker wird.

m Flughafen von Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt sitzen die Chinesen neben ihren Koffern und warten auf ihren Abflug. Es sind nur noch kleine Gruppen, hauptsächlich Bürokräfte, Verkaufspersonal und andere mittlere Angestellte, die in den von Chinesen geführten Unternehmen in der Industrieregion um die vietnamesische Wirtschaftsmetropole herum arbeiten. „

Die Ausschreitungen folgen einem Muster. In einem Restaurant des Industrieparks treffen sich an diesem Tag mehrere Manager aus Taiwan, um die Lage zu besprechen. Einer von ihnen ist Chiang Kaiyu, der für ein Elektrounternehmen arbeitet. Auf seinem Handy führt er ein Video vor, das den Angriff auf seine Fabrik zeigt. Es sind Menschen auf Mopeds und Motorrollern zu sehen, die überwiegend passiv in der Gegend herumstehen. Aber es gibt Einzelne im Hintergrund, die mit Stangen auf Fenster und Türen einschlagen. Einer der Krawallmacher läuft sogar mit einem Golfschläger durch das Bild. Im Inneren des Gebäudes bangt zur gleichen Zeit Chiang Kaiyu um sein Leben, wie er berichtet. „Ich habe mich unter meinem Schreibtisch versteckt“, erzählt der Mann aus Taiwan. [Weiterlesen]

Beijing's dangerous arrogance in the South China Sea

18.05.2014 Philip Bowring (SCMP) - China's current behaviour vis-à-vis its South China Sea neighbours is aggressive, arrogant and smacks of Han chauvinism and ethnocentrism. Far from being an expression of national pride, it is giving patriotism a bad name. Patriotic Hongkongers should recognise it for what it is: a dangerous ploy.

Not only has Beijing bared expansionist teeth to Vietnam and the Philippines, it has now succeeded in shifting Indonesia from a position of trying to act as a moderator between China and the other South China Sea states to opponent. Twice in recent months, Indonesia has accused China of claiming part of its Natuna island archipelago. So much for a "peaceful rise" when you rile neighbours with populations of more than 400 million, who you assume to be weak.

A revived China wants to flex its muscles and show who is boss in the region - just as it tried with Vietnam in 1979 - and remind the US of its own weakness. But there is also a basic reluctance to treat the non-Han neighbours as equals, people with their own history and cultures which, except for Vietnam, have never been subject to major Chinese influence. [read more]

Chinese Military Said to Be Massing Near the Vietnam Border (+Photos)

18.05.2014 By Joshua Philipp (The Epoch Times) - Troops, tanks, trucks, artillery, and armored personnel carriers of China’s military were seen heading to the Vietnamese border on May 16 and 17, according to photographs taken by by residents near the border.

Chinese netizens have been posting photographs of the large movement of the People’s Liberation Army, many of them showing Chinese troops in full combat gear heading to the local train station in Chongzuo, along with military vehicles.

One netizen said the Chinese military was taking the train from the Chongzuo station to Pingxiang City, which shares a 60-mile border with Vietnam. The netizen said that the Huu Nghi Border Gate to Vietnam is also now closed. [read more]

Anti-China Protests Spread in Vietnam Over Oil Rig Dispute

18.05.2014 Written by Mong Palatino (Global Voices) - Protests have escalated in Vietnam over China’s towing of an oil rig ‘inside’ the territorial waters of Vietnam in the South China Sea. According to Vietnam, the Chinese oil rig known as Haiyang Shiyou 98 is 80 nautical miles inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone. The Vietnamese government is calling China to withdraw the rig and its more than 80 escort naval ships.

The two countries have been disputing ownership of the Paracel islands in the South China Sea for many years already but the installation of the oil rig was so far China’s most daring attempt to assert control over the resource-rich waters. [read more]

Vietnam stifles new demonstrations as China fumes

18.05.2014 (The West Australian) - Hanoi (AFP) - Vietnamese security forces stifled fresh protests Sunday over China's plans to drill for oil in contested waters, as Beijing sent five ships to help evacuate its nationals from Vietnam following deadly mass riots last week.

Fearing an impact on vital foreign investment, Vietnamese authorities took no chances Sunday as activist groups tried to stage further demonstrations, though they insisted they would be peaceful.

Hundreds of security personnel swarmed over streets leading to the sprawling Chinese embassy in Hanoi, restricting access to the neighbourhood and other suspected protest sites.

Blogs by civil society groups involved in the protest call said activists were detained in several areas around the country or prevented from leaving their homes. [read more]

Vietnam acalla las protestas antichinas

18.05.2014 (Univision) - HANÓI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam acalló el domingo las protestas antichinas con una movilización masiva de efectivos de seguridad después que una serie de motines mortíferos desencadenados por una disputa territorial con China alarmó tanto a los inversionistas extranjeros como al gobierno autoritario.

Mientras los buques patrulleros de ambas naciones seguían en un tenso estancamiento cerca de una plataforma petrolera submarina china en un sector disputado del Mar del Sur de la China, el gobierno chino dijo que evacuó a 3.000 de sus ciudadanos de Vietnam y anunció el envío del primero de cinco barcos para evacuar a otros que quieran irse.

China dijo además que suspendía algunos de sus planes bilaterales con Vietnam y aconsejó a los chinos no visitar Vietnam. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam arrests demonstrators in renewed anti-Chinese protests

18.05.2014 Staff reporter in Ho Chi Minh City and Associated Press in Hanoi (SMCP) - More than one hundred people took to the streets in Vietnam’s southern hub Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday denouncing China, only days after earlier protests turned into deadly looting of Chinese factories.

The demonstrators, mostly middle-aged men, started clapping and shouting “Vietnam” at around 9am near the Youth Culture Centre, a Communist Party community service building, in the heart of the city formerly known as Saigon.

In Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday morning, a heavy police presence armed with batons and wearing helmets, cordoned off the demonstrators as their numbers rose and they started to march towards the Chinese consulate general just ten minutes away.

Police stopped them after they were less than halfway into their journey, and brief clashes erupted between demonstrators and what appeared to be security personnel in plainclothes. A local said some protesters had attempted to display banners critical of the Vietnamese government. Some demonstrators were then taken away.

As in previous days, the government had sent text messages on Sunday morning to mobile phones throughout the country calling on residents not to participate in illegal protests. [read more]

Why China is squelching news of Vietnam protests

18.05.2014 By Adam Minter (Peninsula Newspaper) - Thursday morning news broke that anti-Chinese protests had turned violent overnight, resulting in the deaths of at least two (and perhaps as many as 16) Chinese workers, injuries to at least 100 others, and significant damage to Chinese, Taiwanese, and South Korean factories.

Yet in China, ostensible target of the violence, the mayhem wasn’t news at all. In fact, even China’s Internet savvy micro bloggers had trouble gathering information on an event that everywhere else in Asia was top-of-the-fold news. Frustration, insofar as it could be expressed, appeared on Chinese social networks — and then was quickly censored. [read more]

China fliegt seine Bürger aus Vietnam aus

18.05.2014 Von Johnny Erling, Peking (Die Welt) - Aus Furcht vor weiteren Protesten evakuiert Peking seine Landsleute aus Vietnam per Schiff und Flugzeug. Bei Demonstrationen gegen chinesische Firmen hatte es zwei Tote und Hunderte Verletzte gegeben.

Peking befürchtet weitere antichinesische gewalttätige Massenproteste in Vietnam. Tausende dort lebende und arbeitende Bürger der Volksrepublik sollen in den nächsten Tagen mit Charterflugzeugen oder Schiffen heimgeholt werden.

Berichten zufolge wird Chinas Transportministerium fünf Schiffe nach Vietnam schicken, um seine Staatsbürger heimzuholen. Das erste Transportschiff verließ die Insel Hainan am Sonntag kurz vor zehn Uhr morgens mit Platz für rund 1000 Ausreisende.

Seit Samstagnachmittag hatten Sondermaschinen chinesischer Fluggesellschaften bereits mehr als 3000 chinesische Staatsbürger ausfliegen lassen. Zuvor hatten sich schon mehr als 600 Chinesen über den Landweg nach Kambodscha abgesetzt. In Chengdu landete am frühen Sonntagmorgen die erste als fliegendes Hospital ausgerüstete Chartermaschine, die 16 verletzte Chinesen an Bord hatte. [Weiterlesen]

Chinesen aus Vietnam evakuiert

18.05.2014 Markus Ackeret, Peking (NZZ) - Nach den Ausschreitungen von letzter Woche betrachtet Peking Vietnam als nicht mehr sicher für Chinesen. Hanoi unterband am Wochenende neue antichinesische Proteste. Peking will sein Vorgehen im Südchinesischen Meer nicht revidieren.

Zwischen China und Vietnam laufen die Drähte heiss, aber der Kontakt ist kein Ausdruck besonders enger Beziehungen. Er dient der Schadensbegrenzung, und auch dies nur in engem Rahmen. Seit letzte Woche Tausende von Vietnamesen mit gegen China gerichteten Parolen auf die Strassen gegangen waren und vermeintlich chinesische Fabriken und Einrichtungen gebrandschatzt und geplündert hatten, ist das ohnehin fragile Verhältnis der beiden Nachbarstaaten auf einen neuen Tiefpunkt gesunken. Zeichen des enormen Misstrauens ist die Evakuierung von über 3000 Chinesen am Wochenende aus Vietnam.

In Vietnam versuchte die Regierung laut Berichten vom Wochenende neue Proteste sofort zu unterbinden, und sie rief zu Ruhe und Ordnung auf. Der aussen- und innenpolitische Schaden, den die Toten, Verletzten und die Zerstörungen – vielfach waren auch andere ausländische Betriebe betroffen – am Bild Vietnams angerichtet haben, lässt sich schon nicht mehr rückgängig machen. [Weiterlesen]

Violences antichinoises au Vietnam : la Chine évacue 3 000 ressortissants

18.05.2014 (Le Monde) - Les tensions entre la Chine et le Vietnam s'accentuent chaque jour un peu plus. Devant ce constat, les autorités chinoises ont décidé, dimanche 18 mai, d'évacuer du Vietnam plus de 3 000 de leurs ressortissants. Pékin a également déployé cinq navires afin de rapatrier davantage de personnes, selon les médias officiels chinois, alors que de nouvelles manifestations sont prévues dimanche dans les grandes villes vietnamiennes. Ces derniers jours, la flambée de violences entre les deux pays a conduit à la mort d'au moins deux personnes.

« Le côté chinois (...) suspend à partir d'aujourd'hui sa part des programmes d'échanges bilatéraux », a aussi déclaré le ministère chinois des affaires étrangères. « La Chine suivra l'évolution de la situation et se penchera sur de nouvelles mesures », a-t-il ajouté. Samedi, Pékin avait conseillé à ses ressortissants de ne pas se rendre au Vietnam. [en savoir plus]

China evacúa a más de 3.000 de sus ciudadanos en Vietnam por las protestas

18.05.2014 (Yahoo Noticias España) - Pekín, 18 may (EFE).- Más de 3.000 ciudadanos chinos residentes en Vietnam han sido evacuados los últimos días debido a la violencia de las protestas antichinas, que han causado hasta ahora la muerte de dos personas y un centenar de heridos.

Según informó hoy el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores chino en un comunicado, entre los evacuados hay 16 heridos "en estado crítico" que abandonaron Vietnam la mañana del domingo en un vuelo chárter con asistencia médica.

El Gobierno chino envió un grupo de trabajo a la provincia vietnamita de Ha Tinh (centro del país), donde se registraron las mayores protestas, para preparar el retorno a China de los heridos. [seguir leyendo]

Vietnam riots: China ships to evacuate workers

18.05.2014 (BBC) - China is sending five ships to evacuate Chinese nationals from Vietnam following a wave of anti-Chinese riots.

The Chinese government has already evacuated more than 3,000 people, Chinese state-run media report.

The first ship set sail on Sunday, while 16 critically injured Chinese nationals left Vietnam on a chartered flight, Xinhua news agency said.

Two Chinese workers have been killed and dozens more injured in unrest over a Chinese oil rig in disputed waters. [read more]

On high seas, Vietnam and China play tense game

17.05.2014 (The Japan Times) - ABOARD VIETNAMESE COAST GUARD SHIP 4033 – Each day the Vietnamese ships tried to get close to the rig. And each day they were driven back by the much larger Chinese ships.

But before they sped away, laboring engines spewing black smoke, the Vietnamese delivered a message: “Attention! Attention! We are warning you about your provocative act,” blasted out a recording from a loudspeaker in Vietnamese, Chinese and English. “We demand you respect Vietnam’s sovereignty. Please immediately halt your activities and leave Vietnamese waters.”

Occasionally colliding with or firing water cannons at each other, Vietnamese and Chinese ships have been shadowboxing in a sun-dazzled patch of the South China Sea since May 1, when Beijing parked a hulking, $1 billion deep-sea oil rig, drawing a furious response from Vietnam. [read more]

China evacuates 3,000 of its nationals from Vietnam amid oil rig row

17.05.2014 (Deutsche Welle) - China has evacuated more than 3,000 of its nationals from Vietnam in the wake of anti-China unrest, according to state media. Tensions have been on the rise since Beijing's deployment of an oil rig in contested waters.

More than 3,000 Chinese nationals have been evacuated from Vietnam, China's official state Xinhua news agency reported early Sunday.

"They returned to China with the assistance of (the) Chinese Embassy to Vietnam," the agency said, citing China's Foreign Ministry.

Beijing on Saturday advised its nationals against traveling to Vietnam, which has over the past week seen its worst anti-China unrest in decades. [read more]

Anti-Chinese Violence Convulses Vietnam, Pitting Laborers Against Laborers

15.05.2014 By Chris Buckley and Chau Doan (The New York Times) - HA TINH PROVINCE, Vietnam — One Chinese laborer said angry Vietnamese workers had stomped on his hands, crushing them. Another said his son had been struck in the head with a metal rod by a Vietnamese mob that had sought out Chinese for beatings. At least one Chinese worker died.

While anti-Chinese violence in southern Vietnam earlier in the week targeted foreign factories, the outburst of anger here in the nation’s center took a more vindictive turn late Wednesday, with Vietnamese turning on Chinese laborers. The violence in Ha Tinh appeared to be the worst against Chinese since a territorial dispute inflamed anger in Vietnam. [read more]

Jagd auf chinesische Arbeiter

15.05.2014 (ARD) - Bei neuen anti-chinesischen Protesten sind in Vietnam mindestens ein chinesischer Arbeiter getötet und hundert weitere verletzt worden. Zu der Gewalteskalation kam es in der zentralen Provinz Ha Tinh, als rund Tausend Vietnamesen eine taiwanischen Stahlhütte im Industriekomplex Formosa attackierten.

Die Angreifer stürmten das Gelände, setzte zahlreiche Gebäude in Brand und machten Jagd auf chinesische Arbeiter. Möglicherweise kamen dabei noch mehr Menschen ums Leben als bislang offiziell bekannt. Die Nachrichtenagentur Reuters zitiert einen Krankenhausarzt aus der Region, dem zufolge mehr als 20 Menschen starben - fünf vietnamesische Arbeiter sowie 16 Personen, "die als Chinesen beschrieben wurden". Ein Manager der Firma sagte der chinesischen Agentur Xinhua, zehn Arbeiter würden noch vermisst. [Weiterlesen]

Muere un ciudadano chino por disturbios en Vietnam

15.05.2014 (Univision) - HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Una multitud de unas mil personas entró por la fuerza a una fábrica taiwanesa de acero en Vietnam durante la madrugada y causó la muerte de un ciudadano chino y heridas a otros 90, dijo el jueves el embajador de Taiwán.

Este fue el primer incidente con víctimas mortales de la ola de protestas antichinas provocada por la colocación de una plataforma petrolera de esa nación en una zona marítima que disputan Vietnam y China. [seguir leyendo]

Plus d’une dizaine de “Chinois” tués au Vietnam

15.05.2014 Par Gabriel Gresillon & Yann Rousseau (Les Echos) - Reuters assure jeudi matin qu’au moins 16 travailleurs présentés comme chinois auraient été tués par des manifestants vietnamiens dans l’attaque d’un complexe sidérurgique dans la province d’Ha Tinh.

Les autorités d’Hanoï semblent avoir perdu le contrôle sur le mouvement de colère anti-chinois qui anime une partie de sa population depuis la semaine dernière. Après avoir toléré, pendant plusieurs jours, les manifestations de rue contre l’implantation par Pékin d’une plate-forme de forage pétrolier dans une zone maritime revendiquée par le Vietnam mais occupée par la Chine (voir la vidéo de l'AFP ci-dessous tournée dimanche), elles vont devoir maintenant répondre de l’apparent massacre de près de plus d’une dizaine de ressortissants chinois dans une province du centre du pays. Reuters, qui cite des médecins, assure jeudi matin qu’au moins 16 travailleurs présentés comme chinois auraient été tués par des manifestants vietnamiens dans l’attaque d’un complexe sidérurgique dans la province d’Ha Tinh. L’aciérie, qui est en cours de construction, serait la propriété du groupe taiwanais Formosa Plastics Group, qui aurait pu être confondu avec des intérêts chinois.

D’autres agences occidentales affirment que la police vietnamienne n’a, pour l’instant, reconnu qu’un seul décès de Chinois dans les affrontements autour du site industriel. Les forces de l’ordre évoquent par ailleurs le recensement d’une centaine de blessés. Des médias vietnamiens assurent, eux, que des centaines de Chinois tenteraient maintenant de fuir le pays par les aéroports ou par la route qui mène au Cambodge, dans le sud du pays. [en savoir plus]

Hundreds of Chinese flee Vietnam violence, cross border into Cambodia

15.05.2014 (dna India) - Hundreds of Chinese nationals fled to Cambodia to escape the anti-China riots in Vietnam in which at least 20 people are reported to have been killed, Cambodian police said on Thursday. "Yesterday more than 600 Chinese people from Vietnam crossed at Bavet international checkpoint into Cambodia," said National Police spokesman Kirt Chantharith.  "They are at guest houses and hotels in Phnom Penh, with around 100 people staying in Bavet town," he added. "After the situation calms down, they may go back to Vietnam or to other places." [read more]

Anti-China turn deadly in Vietnam

Reports of 20 or more killed as Beijing's expansionism in South China Sea provoke continued violent backlash in Vietnam

15.05.2014 Jonathan Kaiman, Kate Hodal (The Guardian)- Violent reaction in Vietnam to China's expansionist stance in disputed seas has turned deadly with reports that 20 or more people have been killed during rioting that began with attacks on foreign-owned factories.

A top Taiwanese diplomat said rioters had stormed a large Taiwanese steel mill in Vietnam, killing at least one Chinese worker and injuring 90 more. Huang Chih-peng said the violence took place late on Wednesday and early Thursday at the Formosa steel mill in central Vietnam.

A doctor at a hospital in the central Vietnamese province of Ha Tinh said five Vietnamese workers and 16 other people described as Chinese died during anti-China rioting on Wednesday night. [read more]

Tote bei Anti-China-Protesten in Vietnam

15.05.2014 (Deutsche Welle) - In Vietnam haben sich die anti-chinesischen Proteste ausgeweitet. Diesmal stürmten Randalierer ein Stahlwerk. Dabei wurden mindestens ein Mensch getötet. Inzwischen verlassen immer mehr Chinesen das Land.

Rund hundert Menschen seien ins Krankenhaus eingeliefert worden, teilte ein Arzt in einem Krankenhaus der Provinz Ha Tinh in der Landesmitte mit. Darunter seien viele Chinesen.

Medienberichten zufolge stürmten die Randalierer in der Nacht zum Donnerstag die größte Stahlfabrik Vietnams, die sich im Besitz eines Unternehmens aus Taiwan befindet. Der Arzt sagte, dabei seien fünf vietnamesische Arbeiter gestorben sowie weitere 16, die als Chinesen beschrieben wurden. [Weiterlesen]

Ausschreitungen in Vietnam: 21 Tote

15.05.2014 (derStandard.at) - Hanoi - Bei anti-chinesischen Ausschreitungen in Zentral-Vietnam sind nach Angaben eines Arztes in der Nacht auf Donnerstag mehr als 20 Menschen getötet worden. Das teilte ein Arzt in einem Krankenhaus der Provinz Ha Tinh in der Landesmitte mit. Fünf von ihnen seien Vietnamesen gewesen, die anderen 16 Chinesen. [Weiterlesen]

Proteste in Vietnam geraten außer Kontrolle

14.05.2014 (Deutsche Welle) - Proteste, wie sie Vietnam in den vergangenen Tagen erlebt hat, sind in dem Einparteienstaat äußerst selten. Normalerweise werden Demonstrationen von Polizei und Behörden unterbunden.

Proteste, die sich gegen chinesische Unternehmen in den Industriezonen in der südlichen Provinz Binh Duong richteten, gerieten am Dienstag und Mittwoch (13./14.05.2014) außer Kontrolle.

Ein Einkäufer einer europäischen Firma, der anonym bleiben möchte, hat sich am Mittwoch morgen gegen 9.30 Uhr vor Ort ein Bild von der Lage verschafft: "Wir sahen Rauchsäulen aufsteigen. Der Vietnam-Singapur-Industriepark war abgeriegelt, die Straße blockiert, die Polizei war mit Wasserwerfern vor Ort."

Nachdem sich am ersten Tag die Aggressionen gegen chinesische Betriebe gerichtet hatten, seien am Mittwoch auch Unternehmen aus anderen Ländern wie Taiwan und Singapur betroffen gewesen. [Weiterlesen]

Scharmützel um Chinas See

14.05.2014 Von Willi Germund (Frankfurter Rundschau) - In Vietnam verbrennen Tausende aufgebrachter Menschen in den Industrieparks Vietnam-Singapore und Binh Duong nahe Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt chinesische Fabriken – und fackeln versehentlich auch japanische, südkoreanische und taiwanesische ab. Sie protestierten gegen Chinas Absicht, eine Bohrinsel für eine Milliarde US-Dollar bei den Paracel-Inseln vor der Küste von Da Nang zu bauen.

Auf den Philippinen protestiert die Regierung, weil China plötzlich großangelegte Bauarbeiten auf dem Johnson Reef bei den Spratly-Inseln gestartet hat. Laut Staatssekretär Albert del Rosario antwortete Peking kurz und bündig, das Riff gehöre zu China. [Weiterlesen]

Gerhard Will: "China ohne klare Strategie"

14.05.2014 (Deutsche Welle) - In Vietnam kam es zu heftigen Protesten gegen China. Mehrere chinesische Farbiken gingen in Flammen auf. Gerhard Will ordnet die heftigen Ereignisse im Interview mit der DW ein.

In der Nacht von Dienstag auf Mittwoch (13./14.05.2014) sind in Vietnam bei Protesten gegen Chinas Installation einer Ölplattform im Südchinesischen Meer nach offiziellen Angaben etwa 15 Fabriken angezündet und 100 beschädigt worden. Betroffen waren chinesische, aber auch taiwanische Firmen. Alle Fabriken liegen in einem Industriepark in der südlichen Provinz Binh Duong. Insgesamt hatten mehr als 10.000 Vietnamesen an den Protesten teilgenommen. Am Mittwoch nahm die vietnamesische Polizei 500 Demonstranten fest. [Weiterlesen]

Festnahmen nach massiven Anti-China-Protesten in Vietnam

14.05.2014 (Die Oberbadische) - dpa - Hanoi - In Vietnam sind bei anti-chinesischen Protesten nach offiziellen Angaben etwa 100 Fabriken beschädigt worden. Die Behörden nahmen 191 Menschen fest, wie lokale Medien berichteten. Mehrere Fabrikhallen von 15 ausländischen Firmen seien zerstört und zehn Autos in Brand gesetzt worden.

Taiwan bestellte in Taipeh den vietnamesischen Botschafter ein. Zwei Taiwanesen seien bei den Protesten verletzt worden, sagte Außenminister David Lin. [Weiterlesen]

Más de 400 detenidos por los disturbios contra China en el sur de Vietnam

14.05.2014 (Univision) Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), 14 may (EFE).- Más de 400 personas han sido detenidas en relación con los disturbios en las manifestaciones contra China en la que se quemaron varias fábricas en el sur de Vietnam, informaron hoy los medios locales.

Vo Thanh Lap, gerente industrial de un parque industrial en Dong Nai, afirmó que las detenciones se realizaron en esa provincia, así como en la de Binh Duong y en Ho Chi Minh, donde se han extendido las protestas desde martes, según el portal "Tuoitrenews" [seguir leyendo]

Angriffe auf Fabriken: Schwere Unruhen bei Anti-China-Protesten in Vietnam

14.05.2014 (Spiegel-Online) - Hanoi - Vietnam erlebt die schwersten Unruhen seit Jahren. Demonstranten haben mehrere Fabriken im Süden des Landes geplündert und in Brand gesetzt. Offenbar waren die Angreifer davon ausgegangen, dass die Industrieanlagen chinesischen Besitzern gehörten - tatsächlich sollen die meisten von ihnen Taiwanern und Südkoreanern gehören.

Auslöser der Unruhen ist der Streit zwischen Vietnam und China um Besitzansprüche im Südchinesischen Meer. Peking hat eine Tiefseebohrplattform 120 Seemeilen vor die vietnamesische Küste verlegt. Die Regierung beansprucht das Seegebiet nahe der Paracel- und Spratly-Inseln für sich und verlangt den sofortigen Rückzug der Bohrinsel.

Nun hat der Konflikt das Festland erreicht. Nach Angaben ausländischer Diplomaten sollen sich bis zu 20.000 Menschen an den antichinesischen Protesten in Vietnam beteiligt haben. Die Unruhen konzentrierten sich auf Industrieparks in der Provinz Binh Duong, die in den vergangenen Jahren von der kommunistischen Führung in Hanoi errichtet worden waren, um ausländische Investoren anzulocken. [Weiterlesen] - s.a. Der Rohstoff-Streit eskaliert

* Ausschnitt aus der ARD-Tagesschau 14.05.2014 20:00

Violences antichinoises au Vietnam: 500 émeutiers interpellés

14.05.2014 (Romandie) - Hanoï - Quelque 500 personnes ont été interpellées au Vietnam après des émeutes antichinoises contestant le déploiement par Pékin d'une plate-forme pétrolière dans des eaux revendiquées par le Vietnam, a annoncé la police mercredi.

Elles ont été prises en flagrant délit de pillage, de vol et d'incendie des usines, a déclaré à l'AFP Le Xuan Truong, de la police de la région de Binh Duong.

Plus de dix usines ont été incendiées lors de ces émeutes causées par le déploiement par Pékin d'une plate-forme pétrolière dans des eaux revendiquées par Hanoï. [en savoir plus]

China enacts "emergency mechanisms" after Vietnam protests

14.05.2014 (Reuters) - China called Vietnam a "provocateur" on Tuesday and expressed concern after thousands rampaged in industrial zones in the country's south

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a daily press briefing that China had made representations to Vietnam and enacted unspecified emergency mechanisms to provide security to Chinese [read more]

Taiwán condena los actos de violencia contra sus empresas en Vietnam

14.05.2014 (El Confidencial) - Taipei, 14 may (EFE).- Taiwán condenó hoy los actos de violencia contra sus ciudadanos y empresas en Vietnam durante las protestas antichinas que sacuden ese país, desencadenadas por las disputas entre Pekín y Hanoi en el mar de China Meridional.

El Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores de Taiwán envió a Hanoi una dura protesta y advirtió a Vietnam de que los ataques a las propiedades y seguridad personal de los taiwaneses afecta negativamente a las relaciones bilaterales y a las inversiones en ese país.

Los manifestantes vietnamitas no distinguen entre taiwaneses y chinos y atacan y destruyen empresas con carteles en chino, y al menos dos taiwaneses han sido heridos en los disturbios, informó hoy el Ministerio de Exteriores de la isla. [seguir leyendo]

China protesta ante gobierno vietnamita por violencia antichina en Vietnam

14.05.2014 (Univision) - El gobierno chino transmitió a las autoridades vietnamitas una "protesta solemne" por las violentas manifestaciones antichinas y la quema de fábricas de empresas chinas en Vietnam, declaró en Pekín la portavoz del ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores.

China "exhorta a Vietnam a tomar todas las medidas necesarias para terminar con esos actos criminales y castigar a sus autores", dijo la portavoz Hua Chunying a los periodistas. [seguir leyendo]

Singapore says companies in Vietnam industrial park JV set on fire

14.05.2014 (Reuters) - Singapore said on Wednesday that a number of companies at the Vietnam-Singapore industrial parks in Vietnam's Binh Duong province have been broken into and set on fire.

Rioting has broken out at industrial zones in southern Vietnam during protests by thousands of workers angered by Chinese oil drilling in a contested area of the South China Sea.

"MFA requests the Vietnamese government to act immediately to restore law and order in the two VSIPs before the security situation worsens and investor confidence is undermined," the ministry said in a statement. [read more]

Tausende Vietnamesen stürmen ausländische Fabriken

14.05.2014 (Süddeutschen Zeitung) - Seit Jahren streiten Vietnam und China um Ölförderung im Südchinesischen Meer. Aus Protest haben nun 10.000 Vietnamesen etwa 100 Fabriken gestürmt und angezündet, die ihrer Ansicht nach in chinesischem Besitz sind. Doch sie lagen in einigen Fällen falsch.

Ein Polizeisprecher erklärte, man habe etwa 500 Menschen festgenommen, die auf frischer Tat bei Plünderungen und Brandstiftungen an Fabriken gefasst worden seien. Es sollen insgesamt 10 000 Protestierende gewesen sein.

Offiziellen Angaben zufolge wurden etwa 100 Fabriken beschädigt. Betroffen waren demnach auch Firmengebäude von taiwanischen Konzernen, die für chinesische Unternehmen gehalten wurden. Die Türen der Gebäude seien aufgebrochen und Fenster eingeschlagen worden. "Sie dachten, Taiwan sei Teil von China", sagte ein Polizeisprecher.

Die chinesische Regierung äußerte ihre "ernste Besorgnis" über die Vorfälle. Peking fordere die vietnamesische Regierung auf, die Ausschreitungen zu stoppen und die Täter zur Verantwortung zu ziehen, sagte eine Außenamtssprecherin. Die Sicherheit chinesischer Bürger und Unternehmen in Vietnam müsse gewährleistet sein.

Ähnlich äußerte sich Taiwans Außenminister David Lin. Taiwan bestellte den vietnamesischen Gesandten ein. Zwei Taiwaner seien bei den Protesten verletzt worden, sagte Lin. [Weiterlesen]

Neue Spannungen im Südchinesischen Meer

14.05.2014 (Deutsche Welle) - China sorgt für Ärger bei anderen Staaten: Die Philippinen verurteilen den Bau einer Landebahn in den umstrittenen Gewässern. In Vietnam wurden aus Protest gegen Ölbohrungen in dem Meer chinesische Fabriken angezündet.

Im Süden des Landes wurden aus Protest gegen chinesische Ölbohrungen in den umstrittenen Gewässern mindestens drei Fabriken in Brand gesteckt, die von Chinesen betrieben werden. An den Protesten, die sich am Dienstag im Vietnam-Singapur-Industriepark ausgeweitet hatten, waren nach Behördenangaben Tausende Arbeiter beteiligt. Ob dabei auch Menschen verletzt wurden, ist bislang nicht klar. Als Reaktion auf die Vorfälle bestellte das Außenministerium von Singapur den vietnamesischen Botschafter ein und forderte die Regierung in Hanoi auf, "Recht und Ordnung wiederherzustellen". [Weiterlesen]

Vietnamesen stürmen chinesische Fabriken

14.05.2014 (NZZ) - (Reuters/afp) Aus Protest gegen China haben Tausende Vietnamesen am Mittwoch im Süden des Landes ausländische Firmen gestürmt und teilweise in Brand gesetzt.

Hintergrund des Aufruhrs sei die Ölförderung der Chinesen in Teilen des Südchinesischen Meers, die von Vietnam beansprucht werden, teilten vietnamesische Behördenvertreter mit. Mindestens drei von Chinesen betriebene Fabriken sollen angezündet worden sein. Betroffen waren nach Behördenangaben auch Firmengebäude von taiwanischen Konzernen, die für chinesische Unternehmen gehalten wurden. Berichte über Verletzte lagen zunächst nicht vor. [Weiterlesen]

15 factories torched, looted as anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam spin out of control

14.05.2014 By Chris Brummitt, Associated Press (U.S. News & World Report) - HANOI, Vietnam — Anti-China mobs torched up to 15 foreign-owned factories and trashed many more in southern Vietnam amid rising anger over China's recent installment of an oil rig in disputed Southeast Asian waters, officials and state media said Wednesday.

The unrest late Tuesday at a Singapore-run industrial park and others nearby followed protests by up to 20,000 workers at the complexes in Binh Duong province. Smaller groups attacked factories they believed were Chinese-run, but some were Taiwanese or South Korean, VnExpress website quoted Tran Van Nam, the deputy head of the province's people's committee, as saying. [read more]

Der Rohstoff-Streit eskaliert

14.05.2014 (ARD) - In Vietnam ist es zu den größten Ausschreitungen seit Jahren gekommen. Demonstranten legten in mindestens drei Fabriken in einem Industriepark in der Binh Duong Provinz Feuer. Sie gingen davon aus, dass die Anlagen chinesischen Betreibern gehörten. Gegen den kommunistischen Nachbarstaat richtete sich der Zorn der Protestierenden, weil Peking jüngst Ölbohrungen im Südchinesischen Meer durchgeführt hat. Die Bodenschätze beanspruchen jedoch sowohl Vietnam als auch China für sich.

Nach Berichten eines vietnamesischen Lokalpolitikers seien die Proteste anfangs friedlich gewesen. Dann seien die Demonstrationen in Gewalt umgeschlagen. Laut dem auf einer lokalen Webseite zitierten Politiker seien dabei die Fabriken auch geplündert worden. Er sprach von 15 betroffenen Fabriken. Erst später stellte sich heraus, dass die Demonstranten ihr Ziel offenbar falsch ausgewählt hatten. Betroffen war ein Industriepark aus Singapur. Angeblich sollen aber auch Firmen aus Taiwan und Singapur angegriffen worden sein. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam: des manifestants anti-chinois mettent le feu à des usines

14.05.2014 (RTL) - Des manifestants vietnamiens ont protesté contre le déploiement par Pékin d'une plate-forme de forage pétrolier dans des eaux contestées en incendiant des usines chinoises.

Des Vietnamiens manifestant contre le déploiement par Pékin d'une plate-forme de forage pétrolier dans des eaux contestées ont incendié des usines chinoises, ont annoncé les autorités vietnamiennes mercredi. Ces incidents sont rarissimes au Vietnam, tenu par un régime communiste autoritaire à parti unique.

Les violences ont débuté mardi lors de manifestations de milliers de Vietnamiens travaillant dans des zones industrielles à capitaux étrangers, dans un contexte de tensions accrues entre Hanoï et Pékin. Les manifestants s'en sont pris à des compagnies appartenant ou étant gérées par des Chinois dans la zone industrielle Singapour-Vietnam 1 dans la province de Binh Duong, près de Ho Chi Minh-Ville, la capitale économique vietnamienne, dans le sud du pays. [en savoir plus]

Manifestantes antichinos incendiaron fábricas en Vietnam

14.05.2014 (El País) - Manifestantes vietnamitas que protestaban contra el despliegue de una plataforma china de extracción petrolera en aguas litigiosas incendiaron varias fábricas de empresas chinas, anunciaron las autoridades de Vietnam este miércoles.

Miles de vietnamitas que trabajan en las zonas industriales de capital extranjero se manifestaron el martes contra esa decisión china, en un contexto de tensión creciente entre Hanoi y Pekín.

Este tipo de incidentes son extremadamente inusuales en Vietnam, un país controlado por un régimen comunista de partido único.

Los manifestantes atacaron compañías pertenecientes o gestionadas por chinos en la zona industrial Singapur-Vietnam 1, en la provincia de Binh Duong (sur), cerca de Ho Chi Minh City, la capital económica vietnamita. [seguir leyendo]

USA kritisieren China im Seegebietsstreit mit Vietnam

13.05.2014 (ORF) - Im Gebietsstreit Chinas mit Vietnam und den Philippinen im Südchinesischen Meer hat sich der Ton weiter verschärft. Nach gewaltsamen Auseinandersetzungen mit Vietnam um chinesische Ölbohrungen vor der Paracel-Inselgruppe kritisierte US-Außenminister John Kerry das Vorgehen Pekings als „provozierend“.

In einem Telefonat mit seinem chinesischen Kollegen Wang Yi rief er beide Seiten auf, den Konflikt auf „friedlichem Weg im Rahmen der internationalen Gesetze zu lösen“, teilte seine Sprecherin Jen Psaki mit. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnamese workers stage unruly protest at Chinese factories over Beijing's rig deployment

13.05.2014 (StarTribune) - HANOI, Vietnam — Several thousand Vietnamese workers protested at Chinese-owned factories on Tuesday, vandalizing some of them, as anger flared at Beijing's deployment of an oil rig in waters claimed by Vietnam, a factory executive and media accounts said.

Over the weekend, Vietnam's authoritarian government gave rare sanction to street protests against China as way of amplifying its own anger at Beijing. But the protests now appear to be spreading, taking on a violent tinge and directly targeting foreign investment.

An executive at one industrial park said the protests began Monday night and by Tuesday had hit four parks which are home to Chinese and other foreign-owned businesses. He said some factories that refused to stop work were vandalized.

Police were present on Tuesday morning, but the protests were continuing, he said. He didn't give his name because of the sensitivity of the issue. [read more] - [tiếng Việt]

Vietnam: manifestation anti-chinoise contre un projet de forage pétrolier

13.05.2014 (romandie) - AP - Hanoï - Des milliers de Vietnamiens travaillant dans les zones industrielles à capitaux étrangers ont manifesté mardi pour protester contre le déploiement par Pékin d'une plate-forme de forage pétrolier dans des eaux contestées, selon la presse officielle.

Photos à l'appui, le journal en ligne Infonet du ministère de l'Information affirme que les manifestants s'en sont pris à plusieurs usines, notamment un site taïwanais dont les fenêtres ont été brisées et des portes endommagées.

Des milliers de travailleurs (de quatre zones industrielles) se sont montrés tout à fait excessifs, brisant les enseignes des usines dans la province de Binh Duong (sud), écrit le journal. [en savoir plus]

Philippines charges Chinese caught in disputed sea

12.05.2014 By Jim Gomez (NewsObserver) -  MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines charged nine Chinese fishermen Monday with poaching more than 500 endangered sea turtles at a disputed South China Sea shoal despite China's demand for them to be immediately freed.

Prosecutor Allen Ross Rodriguez said two other arrested Chinese were minors and would be sent home. The nine Chinese have been charged with violating two provisions of the Philippine fisheries code, including illegally harvesting 555 endangered turtles, before a special environmental court in western Palawan province. [read more]

Wasserwerfer-Duelle im Südchinesischen Meer

12.05.2014 (derStandard.at) Peking/Hanoi - China hat laut vietnamesischer Zeitung rund 80 Schiffe zu dern Paracel-Inseln verlegt. Im Streit um eine Bohrinsel im Südchinesischen Meer haben sich chinesische und vietnamesische Schiffe mit Wasserwerfern "bekämpft". Das berichtete die vietnamesische Zeitung "Tuoi Tre" am Montag auf ihrer Webseite. Die Anfang Mai von China errichtete Ölplattform liegt in der Nähe der Paracel-Inseln, die auch Vietnam beansprucht. [Weiterlesen]

Duelo de cañones de agua entre Vietnam y China

12.05.2014 (Univision) - HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Un navío patrullero vietnamita y varios barcos chinos se atacaron con cañones de agua el lunes cerca de una plataforma petrolera instalada por Beijing en aguas disputadas, informaron medios oficiales vietnamitas, en el incidente más reciente de un peligroso enfrentamiento entre los dos países.

El diario Tuoi Tre informó que fue la primera vez que barcos vietnamitas responden a acciones ofensivas chinas cerca de la plataforma petrolera, que fue instalada el 1 de mayo en una zona del Mar de la China Meridional reclamada por Beijing y Hanoi. Las dos partes se han acusado mutuamente de chocar barcos respectivos y Vietnam ha presentado un video que muestra a barcos chinos embistiendo los suyos. [seguir leyendo]

ASEAN Silent In China/Vietnam Maritime Clash

12.05.2014 By Matt Schiavenza (IBTimes) - One way to deal with a local bully is for a neighborhood to band together. But when the bully is the People's Republic of China, even an organized group might fail to muster much resistance. ...

A statement released by the foreign ministers of 10 countries at the conclusion of ASEAN's Myanmar summit expressed “serious concern” over tension in the South China Sea, and called on all sides to exercise “self-restraint.” China wasn’t mentioned by name at all. [read more]

China and Vietnam at Impasse Over Rig in South China Sea

12.05.2014 By Keith Bradsher (The New York Times) - HONG KONG — China and Vietnam appear to have reached at least a temporary impasse over a giant drilling rig sent by a state-controlled Chinese oil company to a site in the South China Sea between the Vietnamese coastline and a cluster of disputed islands, as the confrontation has continued to raise thorny issues of international law.

Diplomats in Beijing said they knew of no substantive talks between China and Vietnam. A senior diplomat, who declined to be named for fear of alienating the Chinese, said he understood that the head of the Communist Party in Vietnam had offered to visit Beijing to speak with President Xi Jinping, but the overture had been rejected. [read more]

Why Did China Set Up an Oil Rig Within Vietnamese Waters? Why now and why Vietnam?

13.05.2014 By Ankit Panda (The Diplomat) - The who, what, where, when and how of China’s HD-981 oil rig foray into Vietnamese waters have been addressed comprehensively, both by commentators here at The Diplomat and elsewhere. The enduring question, as with many of China’s provocative actions in the Asia-Pacific, remains why? The opacity of China’s internal decision-making processes makes it rather difficult to conclusively answer that question, but a good amount of evidence suggests that the oil rig crisis with Vietnam was manufactured to test the mettle of ASEAN states and the United States. It gives Beijing an opportunity to gauge the international response to China asserting its maritime territorial claims.

As Carl Thayer points out on this blog and M. Taylor Fravel said in an interview with The New York Times, the China National Offshore Oil Company’s decision to move oil rig HD-981 was a premeditated move of territorial assertion. CNOOC may be a state-owned enterprise but the decision to move this $1 billion asset into an area with questionable hydrocarbon reserves while also inciting a diplomatic crisis speaks to the planned, political nature of this move. The fact that approximately 80 PLAN and Chinese coast guard ships accompanied the rig reinforces the notion that China was making a strategic push to assert its territorial claims in the region. [read more]

Vietnam cannot find support in dispute with China

12.05.2014 By Ed Adamczyk (UPI) - HANOI , Vietnam - The territorial dispute between China and Vietnam was not addressed at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations conference in Myanmar, leaving Vietnam without allies in the argument.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung referred to last week's provocations -- in which China attempted to erect an oil rig in waters of the South China Sea, whose islands are claimed by at least five nations -- as "dangerous and serious violations."

The lack of support of Vietnam's position at the 10-nation summit meeting, which makes decisions by consensus, could be seen as a win for China and indication territorial questions will not be handled collectively. [read more]

Vietnam und China - Streit um chinesische Ölplattform

12.05.2014 (NZZ) - dpa - Im Streit um eine Bohrinsel im Südchinesischen Meer haben sich chinesische und vietnamesische Schiffe mit Wasserwerfern «bekämpft». Das berichtete die vietnamesische Zeitung «Tuoi Tre» am Montag auf ihrer Website. Die Anfang Mai von China errichtete Ölplattform liegt in der Nähe der Paracel-Inseln, die auch Vietnam beansprucht. [Weiterlesen]

Le ton monte entre la Chine et le Vietnam en mer de Chine méridionale

12.05.2014 (Le Huffington Post Quebec) - HANOI, Vietnam - Le ton monte entre la Chine et le Vietnam en mer de Chine méridionale, où Pékin a installé une plateforme de forage dans un secteur revendiqué par les deux pays.

Un bateau patrouilleur vietnamien et plusieurs vaisseaux chinois se seraient affrontés à coups de canons à eau, lundi. Le quotidien Tuoi Tre affirme que c'est la première fois que les forces vietnamiennes répliquent à l'agressivité chinoise autour de la plateforme, qui a été mise en place le 1er mai.

Chaque camp accuse l'autre d'avoir attaqué ses navires. Le Vietnam a présenté une vidéo montrant un vaisseau chinois frappant les siens.

Deux journalistes du quotidien se trouvaient à bord du navire. Ils affirment que les Vietnamiens ont déployé une bannière demandant à Pékin de retirer la plateforme.

Tard dimanche, un autre quotidien a cité le patron de la garde-côtière vietnamienne selon qui la Chine a maintenant élargi à 16 kilomètres la zone d'exclusion autour de la plateforme. Des avions chinois survoleraient aussi à très basse altitude les navires vietnamiens. [en savoir plus]

Vietnam accepts ASEAN decision on South China Sea

12.05.2014 (Eleven) - NAY PYI TAW - Despite having different views over the statement on South China Sea dispute, Vietnam has accepted the decisions made by Myanmar and other ASEAN member countries.

The South China Sea dispute was a key topic during the 24th ASEAN Summit being held in Nay Pyi Taw as a result of high tensions between China, the Philippines, and Vietnam rising a few weeks before the summit.

"Vietnam wants ASEAN to release a statement using stronger words. ASEAN can't stand on only one side. But Vietnam accepts this decision," said presidential spokesperson Ye Htut. [read more]

China soll Luftraum von Vietnam verletzt haben

12.05.2014 (Stimme Russlands) - In den letzten 48 Stunden sollen chinesische Militärflugzeuge den Luftraum von Vietnam über dem Südchinesischen Meer mehrfach verletzt haben.

Das erklärte am Montagmorgen der stellvertretende Leiter des Stabs der Küstenwache Vietnams, Oberst Ngo Ngoc Thu [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam, Chinese Ships Fire Water Cannons

12.05.2014 By Chris Brummitt Associated Press (ABC News) - A Vietnamese patrol boat and several Chinese vessels blasted each other with water cannons Monday near an oil rig recently positioned by Beijing in disputed waters, Vietnamese state media reported, in the latest incident in a dangerous standoff between the two nations.

The Tuoi Tre newspaper said it was the first time that Vietnamese vessels have responded to aggressive Chinese actions close to the deep sea rig, which was positioned May 1 in an area of the South China Sea claimed by Beijing and Hanoi. Both sides have accused the other of ramming ships. Vietnam has presented a video showing Chinese ships hitting its vessels.

In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday the U.S. and other nations involved in navigating in the South and East China Seas were deeply concerned about the "aggressive" Chinese action. [read more]

VIETNAM Des manifestations anti-chinoises très autorisées

12.05.2014 (Courrier international) - L'installation d'une plate forme d'hydrocarbure chinoise dans les eaux revendiquées par le Vietnam suscite l'ire des autorités de Hanoï. Elles font appel au sentiment nationaliste anti-chinois de la population pour les soutenir.

“Le Vietnam autorise des manifestations anti-chinoises,” titre le quotidien de Hong Kong, South China Morning Post. Les manifestations sont très contrôlées au Vietnam, où le parti communiste évite des rassemblements par crainte de les voir se transformer en espace de contestation du régime. Signe supplémentaire que ces défilés avaient reçu le feu vert du pouvoir, la presse officielle et la télévision vietnamienne les ont largement couverts.

Le site du quotidien Thanh Nien parle de “dizaines de milliers de personnes”.

Autoriser les manifestations de colère est un moyen pour les autorités de Hanoï de signaler leur propre indignation contre ce qu’elles considèrent comme une “une menace sérieuse” à la sécurité dans la région. [en savoir plus]

China rig anger boils over

12.05.2014 (The Star Online) - HANOI: Protesters staged one of Vietnam’s largest ever anti-China demonstrations, decrying Beijing’s deployment of a deep-water drilling rig in contested waters as territorial tensions soar.

Vietnam said China’s decision was “illegal”, demanded the rig be withdrawn, and dispatched vessels to the area – which it claims were subsequently attacked and rammed by Chinese ships.

“I think that escalation is possible,” analyst Nguyen Quang A said.

The leadership uses public protest as a means of expressing extreme discontent with Beijing, said Professor Jonathan London at City University of Hong Kong. [read more]

Dangereuse escalade des tensions entre la Chine et le Vietnam

12.05.2014 (20 minutes) - Les relations sino-vietnamiennes n’ont jamais été un long fleuve tranquille, mais ces derniers jours, les tensions entre les deux voisins ont atteint leur point culminant depuis plusieurs années. En annonçant le déploiement d’une plate-forme de forage pétrolier en eau profonde dans des eaux revendiquées par les deux pays, Pékin a mis le feu aux poudres.

Plus récemment, la Chine et le Vietnam ont connu deux épisodes sanglants, en 1979 et en 1988. Les deux voisins n’en partagent pas moins une idéologie communiste et de forts liens économiques.

Le gouvernement vietnamien, qui se méfie d’habitude des rassemblements publics, a cette fois autorisé et encouragé son peuple à manifester. Un millier de personnes se sont ainsi massées dimanche devant l’ambassade de Chine à Hanoï pour dénoncer ce qui est vécu comme une agression de la Chine. [en savoir plus]

ASEAN expresses alarm over territorial disputes

12.05.2014 (Mizzima News) - NAY PYI TAW (AFP) – Southeast Asian leaders expressed "serious concern" over territorial disputes in the South China Sea in a statement released on May 12 amid a growing row between Vietnam and China over disputed waters.

The communique from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations followed a summit in the Myanmar capital on May 11 that was dominated by escalating maritime tensions.

"We expressed serious concerns over the ongoing developments in the South China Sea," said the statement, issued at the end of the first ASEAN summit to be hosted by Myanmar since it was admitted to the regional bloc in 1997.

The ASEAN meeting came just days after both Vietnam and the Philippines squared off against China in different areas of the disputed sea. [read more]

Vietnamese protests against China gather pace, fuelling regional tension

11.05.2014 Agence France-Presse in Hanoi (The Guardian) - More than 1,000 people gather outside the Chinese embassy in Hanoi, testing response of Vietnamese government.

Protesters staged one of Vietnam's largest ever anti-China demonstrations on Sunday, decrying Beijing's deployment of a deep-water drilling rig in contested waters as territorial tensions soar.

Some 1,000 people, from war veterans to students, waved banners saying "China don't steal our oil" and "Silence is cowardly" – a dig at Hanoi's handling of the dispute –and sang patriotic songs in a park opposite the Chinese embassy. [read more]

Demonstration in Hanoi gegen chinesische Ölförderpläne

11.05.2014 (Deutsche Welle) - Eigentlich sehen sich die Volksrepublik China und die Sozialistische Republik Vietnam als Bruderstaaten. Kritik an der Politik des Partners ist verpönt. Jetzt hat Hanoi erstmals öffentlichen Protest gegen China geduldet.

Bis zu 1000 Menschen demonstrierten in der Hauptstadt Hanoi gegen Pekings Vordringen im Südchinesischen Meer. In einem Park vor der chinesischen Botschaft versammelte sich die Menschenmenge und hielt Plakate mit Aufschriften wie "China, stiehl nicht unser Öl" oder "China: Verlass vietnamesische Gewässer" in die Höhe.

Hunderte Polizisten in Zivil und in Uniform schirmten die Botschaft ab, schritten aber nicht ein gegen die Protestkundgebung. Ganz anders als sonst. Denn die kommunistische Regierung in Vietnam duldet in der Regel keine Proteste.

"Dies ist die größte anti-chinesische Demonstration, die ich je in Hanoi gesehen habe", sagte der 74-jährige Kriegsveteran Dang Quang Thang. "Unsere Geduld hat Grenzen. Wir sind hier, um die Entschlossenheit des vietnamesischen Volkes zu demonstrieren, unser Territorium um jeden Preis zu verteidigen." Ein anderer Teilnehmer der Protestaktion sagte: " Es ist das erste Mal, dass die Behörden eine Kundgebung so nah an der Botschaft zulassen." [Weiterlesen]

Les Vietnamiens manifestent contre un projet pétrolier chinois

11.05.2014 (Yahoo News France) - HANOI (Reuters) - Plusieurs centaines de personnes ont manifesté dimanche dans les grandes villes du Vietnam pour protester contre l'installation par la Chine d'une plate-forme pétrolière géante dans un secteur contesté en mer de Chine méridionale.

A Hanoi, 300 personnes étaient massées devant l'ambassade de Chine et quelques centaines d'autres devant le consulat de Chine à Hô-Chi-Minh-Ville, ont rapporté des témoins. Des manifestations ont également eu lieu à Hué et Danang, selon les sites internet de journaux.

"A bas la Chine", a-t-on entendu et sur certaines pancartes, on pouvait lire : "Chine, pas touche au Vietnam !" D'autres demandaient à la compagnie pétrolière chinoise, la CNOOC, d'enlever la plate-forme. [en savoir plus]

Zu Wasser und auf der Straße

11.05.2014 Felix Lee (taz) - Normalerweise sind Demonstrationen in Vietnam nicht gestattet. Doch wenn sich der Protest gegen den Erzfeind China richtet, dann schon. Solche Szenen gibt es in Hanoi nur selten. Eine wütende Menschenmenge steht in einem Park vor der chinesischen Botschaft der vietnamesischen Hauptstadt. Sie halten Plakate und Transparente in der Luft. Polizisten schirmen die Botschaft zwar weiträumig ab, schreiten aber nicht ein. Dabei sind Demonstrationen im kommunistisch geführten Vietnam normalerweise verboten. Doch wenn es um den Erzfeind und einstigen kommunistischen Bruderstaat China geht, drücken die vietnamesischen Behörden ausnahmsweise ein Auge zu.

Nachdem sich in der vergangenen Woche der Streit um die von beiden Staaten beanspruchten Paracel-Inseln im Südchinesischen Meer wieder zugespitzt hat, toleriert die vietnamesische Führung nun gezielt antichinesische Propaganda. Mit Aufschriften wie „China, zieh ab“ oder „China, stiehl nicht unser Öl“ zogen mehrere Hundert Demonstranten am Sonntag durch die Straßen von Hanoi bis zu einem Park gegenüber dem Gebäude der chinesischen Botschaft. Vietnamesische Medien berichten gar von tausenden Teilnehmern. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam permite protesta anti-China

11.05.2014 Por Chris Brummitt | Associated Press (Yahoo Noticias en Español) - HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam autorizó a cientos de manifestantes efectuar el domingo una ruidosa protesta frente a la embajada china en Hanoi en contra de que Beijing instale una plataforma petrolera en aguas disputadas del mar de China Meridional, coyuntura que ha provocado una tensa crisis y aumentado los temores de una confrontación.

La dirección autoritaria del país mantiene un estricto control sobre las congregaciones públicas por temor a que puedan derivar en protestas antigubernamentales.

Esta ocasión, al parecer las autoridades cedieron frente a la ira pública y aprovechan la oportunidad para manifestar su propia indignación ante Beijing. [seguir leyendo]

Proteste in Vietnam gegen chinesische Bohrplattform

Peking will in umstrittenem Seegebiet Öl fördern

11.05.2014 (Yahoo News Deutschland) - In Vietnam hat es große Proteste gegen chinesische Ölbohrungen in einem umstrittenen Seegebiet im Südchinesischen Meer gegeben. Rund tausend Menschen demonstrierten in einem Park vor der chinesischen Botschaft in Hanoi mit Plakaten mit der Aufschrift "China, stiehl nicht unser Öl" und "Schweigen ist feige". Hunderte Polizisten in Zivil und in Uniform schirmten die Botschaft ab, schritten aber nicht ein gegen die Protestkundgebung.

"Dies ist die größte anti-chinesische Demonstration, die ich je gesehen habe in Hanoi", sagte der 74-jährige Kriegsveteran Dang Quang Thang. "Unsere Geduld hat Grenzen. Wir sind hier, um die Entschlossenheit des vietnamesischen Volkes zu demonstrieren, unser Territorium um jeden Preis zu verteidigen." Die kommunistische Regierung in Vietnam erlaubt in der Regel keine Proteste, doch Demonstrationen gegen China werden vielfach, wenn auch nicht immer geduldet. [Weiterlesen]

Rare rallies in Vietnam say 'hands off' to China over sea row

11.05.2014 By Minh Nguyen (Reuters) - Hundreds rallied on Sunday in Vietnam's biggest cities to denounce China's setting up of a giant oil rig in the South China Sea, a rare protest likely to prolong a tense standoff between the two communist neighbors.

At least 300 people massed in front of China's embassy in Hanoi and a few hundred more at its consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, witnesses said, chanting "Down with China" in protests that expose the underlying cracks in relations between the two political and economic allies.

"We're very angry. We came here today to show we students are ready to side with the government," said Hoang Thi Nhat, a 21-year-old who attends university in Hanoi. "When requested, we'll do everything within our abilities to protect our nation's sovereignty."

Vietnam state media estimates of crowd size ranged from thousands of people to tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands. Websites of newspapers said rallies were also held in the central cities of Hue and Danang. [read more]

Vietnam allows hundreds to protest against China over deployment of oil rig in disputed sea

10.05.2014 By Chris Brummitt | AP (Canadian Business) - HANOI, Vietnam – Vietnam allowed several hundred demonstrators to stage a noisy rally outside the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi on Sunday against Beijing’s deployment of an oil rig in the contested South China Sea that has triggered a tense standoff and raised fears of confrontation.

The country’s authoritarian leaders keep a very tight grip on public gatherings for fear they could attract anti-government protesters. This time, they appeared to give in to public anger that also provided them with the opportunity to register their own indignation at Beijing.

The government has in the past forcibly broken up anti-China protests and arrested their leaders, many of whom are also campaigning for greater political freedoms and human rights. [read more]

China and Vietnam's South China Sea clash dominates ASEAN summit

11.05.2014 By Bill Hayton (BBC) - South east Asian governments have called on China and Vietnam to end their confrontation in the South China Sea and to resolve their dispute peacefully. [read more]

Regional concerns over clashes between China and Vietnam

11.05.2014 Daniel Flitton (The Sydney Morning Herald) - Regional concern is mounting after violent clashes between China and Vietnam in disputed waters, with Australia adding its voice to calls for restraint.

Foreign ministers from south-east Asian nations warned at the weekend of "increased tensions in the area" following China's decision to deploy an oil rig near islands claimed by Vietnam.

China has declared a three-mile exclusion zone around the drilling platform since towing the rig to the area last week, escorted by dozens of vessels, including navy ships.

Vietnam deployed coastguard ships in response, and has accused Chinese ships of ramming at least two of its vessels and using water cannons. [read more]

China feels the heat of its South Sea

11.05.2014 (Daily Pakistan Observer) - Sunday, May 11, 2014 - Tension escalated in the South China Sea region this week after China, Vietnam and the Philippines were involved in a series of potentially explosive confrontations over the territory. On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman accused the United States for stoking tensions in the disputed Sea by encouraging countries to engage in dangerous behaviour.

Analysts believe that the deployment of troops in Philippines is an attempt for the encirclement of China as the US is already having its huge presence in Japan, South Korea and would be retaining sufficient number of troops in Afghanistan after draw down by the end of 2014. [read more]

Experts: Sea spat part of larger strategy

11.05.2014 (The Star) - BEIJING: China sending an oil rig to waters disputed with Vietnam is a move to assert its legal claim and practical hold over contested territory whatever the short-term political and diplomatic costs, analysts say – but could play into Washington’s hands.

Beijing’s controversial move to dispatch the deep-water rig along with a reported 70 vessels triggered clashes in the South China Sea, just after a visit to the region by US President Barack Obama and ahead of this weekend’s Association of Asean summit.

It also comes amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Manila, which has asked a United Nations tribunal to rule on China’s claims over most of the sea. Beijing – which prefers to negotiate directly with its smaller, weaker neighbours – has vehemently rejected arbitration. [read more]

China-Vietnam face-off in South China Sea leaves India worried

10.05.2014 (The Times of India) - NEW DELHI: India has joined the US in ringing alarm bells over China's expansionist expeditions in the South China Sea clashing with Vietnam and the Philippines early this week. Though trying to play safe, New Delhi refused to name China or Vietnam and instead called for freedom of navigation in the sea.

Almost five days after Chinese ships reportedly rammed Vietnamese vessels near the Paracel Islands, the external affairs ministry said it is concerned about the "recent developments" in the South China Sea. In a statement, the foreign office said, "We would like to see resolution of the issue through peaceful means in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law." [read more]

Keine Verurteilung Chinas bei Südostasien-Gipfel

10.05.2014 (Yahoo News Deutschland) - Nach neuen Spannungen mit China im Südchinesischen Meer hat die südostasiatische Staatengemeinschaft Asean in einer gemeinsamen Stellungnahme Sorge geäußert. Die Außenminister der zehn Mitgliedsländer riefen alle Seiten zur Zurückhaltung auf, nannten China aber nicht beim Namen.

Die jüngsten Spannungen setzten China vergangene Woche auf Konfrontationskurs mit dem Asean-Mitglied Vietnam. Chinesische Besatzungen hätten vietnamesische Boote bei den umstrittenen Paracel-Inseln mit Wasserwerfern auf Distanz gehalten. China baut dort eine Ölplattform. Die Inseln beansprucht auch Vietnam. [Weiterlesen]

Next ASEAN summit to focus on South China Sea tensions

09.05.2014 (AsiaNews) - Naypyidaw - Hanoi and Manila will raise the issue of Beijing's recent "provocations" in the South China Sea, including the armed clash between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels near the disputed Paracel Islands, at the next ASEAN summit. In fact the 24th Plenary Assembly of the Association which brings together 10 nations of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN ) opened this morning in Yangon, Myanmar, and, in addition to the issue of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Burma, attention will focus on the disputes threatening to erupt in the Asia-Pacific waters. Diplomats from Vietnam and the Philippines state that China's claims in the disputed waters violate the Declaration of Conduct signed by all parties in 2002. Tensions have been heightened by Beijing's construction of an extraction rig off the Paracel islands, in an area (within 200 nautical miles) considered the Exclusive Economic Zone of Hanoi.

On the Philippine side , the tension with Beijing revolves around the constant presence of Chinese military ships near the Second Thomas Shoal and the increase in poaching activities in ​​Manila's territories. An ASEAN diplomat stressed these issues can no longer be ignored because inaction only "raises tension in the South China Sea". [read more]

Asean to discuss China 'provocation'

09.05.2014 (Bangkok Post) - Vietnam and the Philippines will raise the issue of China's recent "provocative" actions in the South China Sea, including a heated standoff between Chinese and Vietnamese armed vessels near the disputed Paracel Islands, in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) meetings that start in Myanmar's capital Friday, Asean diplomats told Kyodo News late Thursday.

The diplomats, who are senior officials of the two countries, said China's actions to advance its claims over disputed maritime territories violate the Declaration on the Conduct of the South China Sea that China and the 10-member Asean signed in 2002.

They referred in part to ongoing confrontations between Chinese and Vietnamese armed ships near the Paracels, which were sparked last week when China sent an oil rig into the area that Vietnam considers part of its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. [read more]

China must stop oil drilling in South China Sea

09.05.2014 (The Asahi Shimbun) - Tensions are escalating dangerously in the South China Sea, where China and Vietnam have conflicting territorial interests. Chinese government vessels rammed Vietnamese patrol boats near an oil rig that China's state-owned company is installing there, and shot water cannons at Vietnamese vessels.

This is a very serious situation. China had no right to unilaterally start such an economic undertaking in disputed waters in the first place. The Chinese side must desist immediately.

China describes the Paracel Islands, located near the site of the maritime skirmish, as part of its territory and claims it has every right to drill for oil in waters around the islands.

But the entire area falls within the exclusive economic zone established by Vietnam. Although the Paracel Islands have been under China’s effective control, they are also claimed by Vietnam. China's behavior is unacceptable. [read more]

China’s oil rig move leaves Vietnam, others looking vulnerable

09.05.2014 (The Japan Times) - HONG KONG/BEIJING – China’s decision to park its biggest mobile oil rig 190 km off the Vietnamese coast has exposed how vulnerable Hanoi, and other littoral states of the South China Sea, are to moves by the region’s dominant power to assert its territorial claims.

The Communist neighbors are at loggerheads over the drilling rig in contested waters, each accusing the other of ramming its ships in the area in the worst setback for Sino-Vietnamese ties in years.

While Hanoi’s dispute with Beijing over the Spratly Islands, for example, involves fellow claimants the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, it is only Vietnam that contests China’s expanding occupation of the Paracels. [read more]

Vietnam versucht, Chinas Ölsuche mit Marine zu stoppen

08.05.2014 (Hamburger Abendblatt) - Hanoi. Der Konflikt zwischen Vietnam und China über Ölbohrungen vor mehreren von beiden Staaten beanspruchten Inseln im Südchinesischen Meer spitzt sich zu. Chinesische Marineschiffe hätten am Mittwoch vietnamesische Schiffe gerammt und sie mit Wasserwerfern beschossen, sagte der Vize-Kommandeur der vietnamesischen Küstenwache, Ngo Ngoc Thu. Einige Seeleute seien verletzt und einige Schiffe beschädigt worden. Vietnam hatte Diplomatenangaben zufolge 29 bewaffnete Marineschiffe und Boote der Küstenwache in das umstrittene Gebiet geschickt.

Die Bohrung gehört zu einer Reihe von Provokationen, mit denen China seine Hoheitsansprüche auf Gewässer unterstreicht. [Weiterlesen]

China Flexes Its Muscles in Dispute With Vietnam

08.05.2014 By Jane Perlez and Rick Gladstone (The New York Times) - BEIJING — China’s escalating dispute with Vietnam over contested waters in the South China Sea sent new shudders through Asia on Thursday as China demanded the withdrawal of Vietnamese ships near a giant Chinese drilling rig and for the first time acknowledged its vessels had blasted the Vietnamese flotilla with water cannons in recent days.

While China characterized the use of water cannons as a form of restraint, it punctuated the increasingly muscular stance by the Chinese toward a growing number of Asian neighbors who fear they are vulnerable to bullying by China and its increasingly powerful military. The latest back-and-forth in the dispute with Vietnam — the most serious in the South China Sea in years — sent the Vietnamese stock market plunging on Thursday and elicited concern from a top American diplomat who was visiting Hanoi. [read more]

China 'determined' to change status quo in South China Sea

08.05.2014 Gabriel Domínguez (Deutsche Welle) - Tensions are rising in Southeast Asia as Vietnam claims two of its ships were rammed by Chinese vessels in disputed waters. The row shows China is hardening its stance on maritime disputes, says analyst Gregory Poling.

The confrontation began on May 2 when the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation placed its deep sea drilling rig HD-981 in disputed waters of the South China Sea. As Vietnam objected, China deployed some 80 ships, including seven military vessels, along with aircraft to support the rig. Hanoi reacted by dispatching 29 ships to attempt to disrupt the rig's placement and operations.

The situation escalated five days later, when Hanoi reported Chinese vessels used water cannon and rammed several Vietnamese patrol ships, injuring six crew members and damaging some of the ships. China claims a large part of the South China Sea and rejects rival claims from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. [read more]

China stellt Vietnam auf eine harte Probe

08.05.2014 Rodion Ebbighausen (DW) - Im südchinesischen Meer kam es zu Zusammenstößen zwischen chinesischen und vietnamesischen Schiffen. Die ohnehin komplizierten Beziehungen beider Länder erreichen damit einen historischen Tiefstand. So kann man sein Gebiet markieren: Am vergangenen Freitag (02.05.2014) hat das chinesische Staatsunternehmen "China National Offshore Oil Cooperation" die Tiefsee-Bohrinsel HD-981 an eine Stelle südlich der Paracel-Inselgruppe geschleppt. Die Inselgruppe, die im Vietnamesischen Hoang Sa und dem Chinesischen Xisha heißt, ist seit Jahren heftig umstritten. Sowohl Vietnam als auch China beanspruchen die Region für sich, die reich an Öl- und Gasvorkommen ist. Die Bohrinsel wurde von etwa 80 Schiffen, darunter sieben bewaffneten, der Volksrepublik China begleitet. Als Reaktion entsandte die Regierung in Hanoi 29 Schiffe, die die Verankerung der Bohrinsel stören und wenn möglich verhindern sollten. Ernest Bauer hält in einer Analyse des Zentrums für Strategische und Internationale Studien (CSIS) die Behauptung des chinesischen Außenministers für fragwürdig: "Zweifellos ist das betroffene Areal umstritten." Chinas unilateraler Vorstoß verletze eindeutig das Seerechtsübereinkommen der Vereinten Nationen (UNCLOS). "Es verstößt auch klar gegen den allgemeinen Verhaltenskodex des Südchinesischen Meeres, den China 2002 mit den ASEAN-Staaten, inklusive Vietnam, geschlossen hat." [read more]

Vietnam Releases Video of China Ramming Ships

08.05.2014 By Zachary Keck (The Diplomat) - A Vietnam-released video shows Chinese vessels ramming Vietnamese ships in the South China Sea.

Earlier today Shannon and myself noted that Vietnam and Chinese vessels had collided in the South China Sea as Hanoi tried to prevent China from setting up an oil rig in the disputed waters.

On Wednesday, Ngo Ngoc Thu, vice commander of the High Command of Vietnam Marine Police, held a press conference on Wednesday to discuss the matter. During the press conference, a video was played in the background that appeared to show Chinese vessels backed by helicopters trying to obstruct the movement of Vietnam’s vessels. The footage from the video was provided by the Vietnamese fisheries surveillance force, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Defense. [read more]

Tensions rise as Vietnam accuses China of ramming ships

08.05.2014 (SBS) - Hanoi said Wednesday that Chinese ships protecting a deep-water drilling rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea had used water cannon to attack Vietnamese patrol vessels and repeatedly rammed them, causing injuries.

Tensions between the communist neighbours have risen sharply since Beijing unilaterally announced last week it would move the deep-water drilling rig into disputed waters -- a move the United States has described as "provocative".

Vietnam deployed patrol vessels after the China Maritime Safety Administration issued the unilateral navigational warning on its website saying it would be drilling in the South China Sea close to the Paracel Islands -- which are controlled by China but claimed by Vietnam. [read more]

US concern over South China Sea 'dangerous conduct'

08.05.2014 (BBC) - The US has spoken out over "dangerous conduct and intimidation" in the South China Sea, after ships from Vietnam and China collided in disputed waters.

The collisions came as the Vietnamese ships tried to prevent China setting up an oil rig near the Paracel islands.

The incident is the most serious between the countries at sea in years, with dozens of boats now in the area.

The US state department called Beijing's move to introduce an oil rig in the area "provocative". [read more]

Grenzstreit: Chinesisches Schiff rammt Vietnams Küstenwache

08.05.2014 (Deutsche WirtschaftsNachrichten) - Ein chinesisches Schiff hat zwei Schiffe der Küstenwache Vietnams gerammt und schwer beschädigt. Wasserkanonen kamen zum Einsatz. Sechs Vietnamesen wurden verletzt. Der Vorfall ereignete sich in einem Gebiet, das beide Staaten beanspruchen. Unter dem Südchinesischen Meer lagern große Öl- und Gasvorkommen.

Vietnam prüft, ob es rechtlich gegen Chinas Bohrinsel vorgeht. „Wir können keine Maßnahmen ausschließen, darunter internationale Klagen, solange es friedlich zugeht“, sagte ein Beamter des vietnamesischen Außenministeriums.

Die Philippinen haben ihren See-Streit mit China bereits beim internationalen Gericht in Den Haag vorgebracht. [Weiterlesen]

US: Chinese oil rig off Vietnam ‘provocative, raises tensions’

08.05.2014 By Matikas Santos (inquirer.net) - MANILA, Philippines – The United States (US) called China’s move to put an oil rig in disputed waters off Vietnam “provocative and raises tensions.”

“China’s decision to introduce an oil rig accompanied by numerous government vessels for the first time in waters disputed with Vietnam is provocative and raises tensions,” US Department of State Spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement released by the US Embassy in Manila.

“This unilateral action 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,” she said.

Vietnam protested the presence of the oil rig and escort vessels in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) and demanded that China stop drilling operations. [read more]

Corruption still rampant in Vietnam, says party official

07.05.2014 (asiaone) - VIETNAM - Corruption was still an acute problem throughout Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, Party General Secretary and Head of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption, told the first national conference on controlling the evil in the capital city yesterday.

Trong, who chaired the meeting, emphasised the significance of the conference. He said it followed the setting up of a Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption early last year.

"Since then, authorities nationwide have demonstrated their resolve to push back corruption, yet, achievements remain limited. As a result, corruption is still an acute and urgent problem in our society." [read more]

Une violente querelle Chine-Vietnam éclatent en mer de Chine méridionale

07.05.2014 Par The Associated Press (Le Huffington Post Quebec) - HANOI, Vietnam - Une violente querelle mettant aux prises la Chine et le Vietnam a éclaté en mer de Chine méridionale, quand la Chine a tenté d'installer une plateforme de forage dans la région le 1er mai.

Des images diffusées mercredi par les autorités vietnamiennes montrent des navires chinois entrant en collision avec des navires vietnamiens et utilisant des canons à eau extrêmement puissants pour tenter de les éloigner. Plusieurs navires ont été endommagés et au moins six marins vietnamiens auraient été blessés. [en savoir plus]

Chinese Dispute With Vietnam Is Latest In Long Series Of Provocations

07.05.2014 By Meagan Clark (International Business Times) - When Vietnam accused a Chinese ship Wednesday of intentionally ramming two of its vessels near a Chinese oil rig in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, it was only the latest incident in which China has provoked its neighbors by overstepping its boundaries to seize land and resources.

The collisions on Sunday significantly damaged the two Vietnamese ships, injured six people and have escalated tensions between the two Communist nations.

The state-run China National Offshore Oil Corporation operates the drilling rig, despite the objection of the Vietnamese government. Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei claim various parts of the South China Sea, but China has most visibly pounced on the sea’s Spratly Islands, which amount to less than two square miles of land across more than 160,000 square miles of ocean with valuable fisheries and oil and gas reserves. [read more]

Streit um Bohrinsel: Chinesen rammen vietnamesische Küstenwachboote

07.05.2014 (Spiegel) - Hanoi - Im Streit um die Vorherrschaft im Südchinesischen Meer ist es zu einer erneuten Auseinandersetzung gekommen: Chinesische Schiffe griffen am Mittwoch vietnamesische Boote an, als diese die Verankerung einer Bohrinsel verhindern wollten. Die chinesische Hochseeschlepper rammten die fremden Boote und schossen mit Wasserkanonen auf sie. Dabei wurden mindestens sechs Vietnamesen verletzt, zahlreiche Boote beschädigt.

China hatte die Bohrinsel am 1. Mai in das Südchinesische Meer geschleppt. Vietnam hatte daraufhin nach Angaben der dortigen Küstenwache sofort Einheiten zum Schutz der Fischerei entsandt. Nach Angaben eines Offiziellen, der anonym bleiben möchte, wollten die vietnamesischen Schiffe verhindern, dass die Ölplattform an die vorgesehenen Position gebracht wird. [Weiterlesen]

Vietnam acusa a China de embestir a barcos vietnamitas y herir a 6 nacionales

07.05.2014 (Univision) - Bangkok (EFE) - El Gobierno de Vietnam acusó hoy a embarcaciones chinas de embestir deliberadamente a dos barcos vietnamitas, de disparar cañones de agua y herir a seis nacionales en un incidente ocurrido el pasado fin de semana en aguas próximas al archipiélago de Paracel, cuya soberanía reclaman ambos países.

El subdirector del servicio guardacostas vietnamita, Ngo Ngoc Thu, denunció en una rueda de prensa en Hanoi que las embarcaciones chinas, unas 80, entre ellas siete buques militares, causaron "numerosos daños" a los barcos vietnamitas, según el medio vietnamita Tuoi Tre News.

El altercado estuvo relacionado con la colocación de una plataforma petrolífera de la compañía estatal china CNOOC en aguas que Vietnam considera territoriales suyas. [seguir leyendo]

Chinese media threatens Vietnam with a ‘lesson it deserves’ over oil rig row

06.05.2014 (South China Morning Post) - China should give Vietnam a “lesson it deserves to get” if Hanoi ratchets up tension in the South China Sea, an aggressive editorial in state-run media said on Tuesday.

The editorial in the Global Times newspaper comes after Vietnam reacted furiously to a decision by Beijing to move a deep-water drilling rig into disputed waters for the first time.

Hanoi labelled the move “illegal” and demanded the rig withdraw from the area close to the Paracel islands, which are claimed by Vietnam but controlled by China, which calls them Xisha and took control of the whole group after a battle with the US-backed South Vietnamese regime in 1974, as US troops withdrew from Vietnam. [read more]

EEUU y Filipinas lanzan maniobras en el mar de China

05.05.2014 (Univision) - Estados Unidos y Filipinas lanzaron unas vastas maniobras de entrenamiento, unos días después de la visita al archipiélago del presidente Barack Obama, que reiteró su apoyo a su aliado frente a las veleidades territoriales de China.

Estos diez días de ejercicios son necesarios para responder a los retos lanzados por los vecinos "agresivos" de Manila, justificó el ministro filipino de Exteriores, Albert del Rosario, sin nombrar a China. [seguir leyendo]

China rejects Vietnam’s call to stop oil drilling

05.05.2014 By Chris Brummitt | AP (Arab News) - HANOI, Vietnam: Vietnam demanded China stop oil drilling operations in a disputed patch of the South China Sea, saying on Monday that Beijing’s decision to deploy a deep sea rig over the weekend was illegal.

China dismissed the objections, saying the activity was being carried out in its territorial waters.

Beijing’s increasingly assertive territorial claims to the waters, which are thought to have large oil and gas deposits beneath them, have angered Vietnam, the Philippines and other claimants. The region is widely seen as a potential area of conflict. [read more]

Vietnam protests Chinese oil rig in disputed sea

05.05.2014 (The Japan Times) HANOI – Vietnam demanded China stop oil drilling operations in a disputed patch of the South China Sea, saying on Monday that Beijing’s decision to deploy a deep sea rig over the weekend was illegal.

China dismissed the objections, saying the activity was being carried out in its territorial waters.

Beijing’s increasingly assertive territorial claims to the waters, which are thought to have large oil and gas deposits beneath them, have angered Vietnam, the Philippines and other claimants. The region is widely seen as a potential area of conflict. [read more]

Saigon: forgotten by Hanoi, S Vietnamese veterans helped by Catholics and Buddhists

05.05.2014 by Nguyen Hung (AsiaNews) - Catholics, Protestants and Buddhists came together in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in a show of solidarity for 435 South Vietnamese war veterans under the impetus of the city's Redemptorist Fathers. The old soldiers are former members of the armed forces of the US-backed Republic of Vietnam that lost the war to North Vietnam in 1975 when the country was reunified.

Since then, the Communist government has forgotten, if not abandoned, these soldiers. After suffering serious battle injuries, they have been unable to earn a living and so have been forced to beg on the streets of the big city. However, for at least for a day, 28 April, they have found shelter and hospitality in Our Lady of Mutual Aid Parish. [read more]

Saigón: católicos y budistas en ayuda a los veteranos de guerra del sur, olvidados por Hanói

05.05.2014 de Nguyen Hung (AsiaNews) - Ho Chi Ming City (AsiaNews)- Un movimiento interreligioso de Ho Chi ming City- que reúne a católicos, protestantes y budistas- bajo la iniciativa de los padres Redentoristas de Saigón, promovió un iniciativa de solidaridad hacia 435 soldados sud-vietnamitas veteranos de guerra. Se trata de combatientes de la ex República de Vietnam, filo americana, derrotada por el ejército del nord-vietnamita que en 1975 reunificó el País. El gobierno comunista olvidó, sino más bien abandonó a estos soldados que en las batallas han sufrido graves heridas y que hoy son incapaces de ganarse la vida y por lo tanto están obligados a mendigar por las calles de la metrópolis. A pesar de todo, al emos por un día, el 28 de abril pasado estas personas marginados por la sociedad han encontrado refugio y acogida en la parroquia de Nuestra Señora del Mutuo Socorro. [seguir leyendo]

Asean centrality rests on peoples not leaders

05.05.2014 Kavi Chongkittavorn (The Nation) - When the Asean senior officials got together recently in Singapore for the discussion on South China Sea, the situation in Ukraine was discussed on the sideline. There was a proposal from some Asean members to issue a joint statement on the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

But they could not reach a consensus even if the proposed statement would just address in general those principles enshrined in the UN Charter and Asean Charter. Cambodia was adamant that Asean should not get involved in this matter.

As the global strategic landscape has undergone dramatic shifted, the much heralded Asean centrality is being challenged to the core. The most frequently asked questions these days are: Is there such thing as the Asean centrality? If so has Asean earned it? [read more]

Revocation of Degree Four Years Later Leads to Protest by Vietnamese Academics

02.05.2014 (Committee of Concerned Scientists) - Hanoi National University of Education awarded Do Thi Thoan a Masters Degree in 2010, after it received the highest possible evaluation. In 2014, another committee revoked the degree without explanation to Ms. Thoan. Her research adviser was fired. Suspecting politics, almost 300 Vietnamese academics, in Vietnam and abroad, protested the lack of due process in revoking the degree. CCS joined in demanding reversal of the University’s decision and reinstatement of the degree and the research adviser. [seguir leyendo]

Saigon: chrétiens et bouddhistes fêtent les vétérans de l’armée du Sud-Vietnam

02.05.2014 (Églises d'Asie) - « Malheur aux vaincus ! » Depuis la chute de Saigon, le 30 avril 1975, les blessés et mutilés de guerre appartenant au camp de l’ancienne République (2e) du Sud-Vietnam ont eu à subir cette cruelle et inhumaine loi de la guerre. Ils ont été ignorés, abandonnés et mis en marge de la société par le pouvoir en place.

L’an dernier, pour la première fois, une initiative privée, émanant de la communauté rédemptoriste de Saigon et de la pagode bouddhiste Liên Tri située dans cette même ville, avait rompu avec presque quarante ans de silence et d’oubli, et avait bravé d’éventuelles représailles officielles. De nombreux blessés et mutilés de guerre furent accueillis dans les locaux du monastère rédemptoriste à l’occasion d’une journée appelée « Journée de reconnaissance envers les blessés et mutilés de guerre de la République du Vietnam ». [en savoir plus]

BFAR arrests 7 Vietnamese for poaching

01.05.2014 (Inquirer.net) - SUBIC, Philippines—Seven Vietnamese fishermen were arrested by agents of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) for poaching in this town’s waters on Monday.

Nelson Bien, head of BFAR’s regulatory and law enforcement division in Central Luzon, said they also found at least 40 kilograms of tuna and 100 kg of squid in the Vietnamese fishermen’s boat.

Bien said the Vietnamese were presented to the regional trial court in the capital Iba town, Zambales province, for inquest after the BFAR filed a case for poaching against them.

The Vietnamese boat was seen 16 nautical miles off Subic town, Bien said. [read more]