In a world which is already in turmoil a new hot spot has emerged between the small Southeast nation of Vietnam and the Asian giant nuclear power, China. Tensions are high in the region at this time where Chinese boats are said to have violated Vietnamese waters.
Chinese Boats Have Been Violating Vietnamese Fishing Grounds
Thanhnien News in Vietnam has reported " Chinese fishing boats violate Vietnam waters; gov't mulls patrol boats." Due to complaints by Vietnamese fisherman that Chinese boats have been violating local fishing grounds, the government of Vietnam has been considering establishing patrol teams to protect Vietnamese fisherman and boats which are within Vietnamese territorial waters.
The commander of the Vietnamese Border Guards’ Headquarters in Phu Yen Province has said that in the past ten days Vietnamese fishermen reported that every day between 120 and 150 Chinese fishing boats were seen in waters from Da Nang City to the Truong Sa, Spratly, Archipelago. He said that at times there were as many as 200 Chinese boats fishing in Vietnam’s waters. Huyen said “Previously Chinese boats have violated our waters, but this was the first time there were so many boats.”
It's All Illogical and Appears to Be Bullying by China
Vietnamese fisherman are concerned about Chinese fishing boats, which have been seen in their waters. At times they have asked the Chinese boats to leave but they have been threatened with weapons. Le Van Tuan, a Vietnamese fisherman from Tuy Hoa has commented “China issued a fishing ban targeting Vietnam’s territorial waters, but its fishermen came to fish in Vietnam’s waters. It’s just too illogical and bullying."
These tensions between Vietnam and China have been exacerbated further by accusations from Vietnam that China has sabotaged Vietnamese oil exploration vessels. The Financial Times has reported " Vietnam and China oil clashes intensify." Do Van Hau, a senior PetroVietnam official, has said “When we conduct seismic survey and drilling operations, they [China] have aeroplanes flying over to survey our activities, they harass us with their vessels, and in extreme cases they cut our [exploration] cables.”
Other nations aside from China and Vietnam including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan each claim that part or all of the South China Sea is theirs. The South China Sea is believed to contain large oil and gas reserves. There are also major trade routes and large fish stocks in the South China Sea.
PetroVietnam has said that last week Chinese boats approached one of its vessels and intentionally cut an exploration cable. This cable had been submerged to 30 metres in order to protect it from oncoming ships. Vietnam's foreign ministry has said that on Thursday, three Chinese patrol ships rushed the Binh Minh 2, which is a seismic survey ship owned by PetroVietnam, and damaged a number of cables.
In 1979 China Attacked Vietnam
Relations between China and Vietnam have been seriously strained in recent history. GlobalSecurity.org has written on the " Chinese Invasion of Vietnam, February 1979." Relations between China and Vietnam deteriorated horribly in the mid-1970s. In the aftermath of Vietnam joining the Soviet-dominated Council for Mutual Economic Cooperation (Comecon) and signing the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the Soviet Union in 1978, China called Vietnam the "Cuba of the East" and labeled the treaty a military alliance. China also accused Vietnam of mistreatment of Chinese people living in Vietnam.
In December 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia and overthrew the brutal pro-Beijing Pol Pot regime. China's response to what Beijing saw as "a collection of provocative actions and policies on Hanoi's part" was an invasion of Vietnam which was launched in February 1979. Chinese troops attacked along almost the entire Sino-Vietnamese border in a brief, limited campaign which involved ground forces only.
This surprise attack which Vietnam will never forget came early in the morning of February 17, 1979. In one day the Chinese military advanced almost eight kilometers into Vietnam. There was heavy Vietnamese resistance as the Vietnamese rallied to keep their country from being over-run by China. On March 5 the Chinese declared its "lesson" was finished and Chinese forces withdrew from Vietnam.
Psychological Warfare and Economic Warfare Are Pervasive Between China and Vietnam
Ever since then, China has pursued what some observers have described as a semi-secret campaign against Vietnam. The Vietnamese see this as a "multifaceted war of sabotage." Chinese clandestine activity has been primarily directed against the ethnic minorities of the border region. Psychological warfare and economic warfare have all been a real part of the continued tensions between China and Vietnam. Hanoi has accused China of encouraging Vietnamese villagers along the border to engage in smuggling, currency speculation, and hoarding of goods which are in short supply.
Now it appears Beijing is also taking advantage of Washington, DC's perplexing relations in the region in the aftermath of the stalemate in the 1950s Korean war when Chinese troops invaded to help North Korea and the unpopular American/Vietnam war in the 1960s and 1970s. With NATO preoccupied with terrorism, Afghanistan and Libya, Beijing appears to be pushing Vietnam's nerves to the limit and waiting to see what the west thinks it can do about China's desires to dominate Asian politics.
Sources:
- Bland, Ben and Kathrin Hille, Financial Times, Vietnam and China oil clashes intensify
- GlobalSecurity.org, "Chinese Invasion of Vietnam, February 1979"
- Thanhnien News, Chinese fishing boats violate Vietnam waters; gov't mulls patrol boats
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