Chinese analysts Monday urged Vietnam to act responsibly and avert an escalation of regional tensions as the country held live-fire naval drills in the tense South China Sea.
A Vietnamese naval officer told AFP that a successful first barrage of naval artillery had taken place about 40 kilometers off Vietnam’s central Quang Nam Province Monday.
Hanoi earlier described the exercise as routine annual training and said it would be conducted inside the area Vietnam claims as its 20 nautical mile economic zone.
However, the drill is set to further strain tensions in the South China Sea and will not contribute to peace and stability in the region, a Chinese security expert who declined to be named told the Global Times.
“There has been a consensus between China and Vietnam that the South China Sea row should be resolved peacefully and bilaterally, but it seems the Vietnamese side now wants to internationalize the issue,” he said, noting that Vietnam last week welcomed international involvement in the area.
Hanoi last month accused Chinese surveillance vessels of cutting exploration cables from an oil survey ship in the South China Sea.
The Chinese foreign ministry Thursday reiterated indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and the adjacent waters and asked Vietnam to stop acts infringing on Chinese maritime rights and endangering the safety of Chinese fishermen and their property.
“Vietnam’s hard stance may also be aimed at distracting people’s attention from its domestic issues,” Zhuang Guotu, director of the Center for Southeast Asia Studies at Xiamen University, told the Global Times, adding that there are mounting calls within Vietnam for more reforms.
Meanwhile, the Philippines said Monday that it was renaming the region the “West Philippine Sea.”
The South China Sea conflict is posing a major challenge for China’s diplomacy, Yu Wanli, an expert on international studies at Peking University, noted.
“China, as a responsible regional power, while seeking dialogue and consultation, should also make efforts to gain international public support,” Yu said.
Agencies – Global Times