Obama, Vietnam leader discuss South China Sea in landmark meeting

U.S. President Barack Obama and the head of Vietnam's ruling communist party discussed concerns over China's activities in the South China Sea during a historic White House meeting on Tuesday marking two decades of engagement between the former foes.

>> Obama: China 'using muscle' to dominate in South China Sea  

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) reaches out to shake hands with Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong following their meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington July 7, 2015.

Nguyen Phu Trong met with Obama in the Oval Office, where they had "candid" discussions over differences about human rights and religious freedom as well a pending Pacific trade agreement with the region, Obama said.

'Paving paradise': Scientists alarmed over China island building in disputed sea

Concern is mounting among some scientists that China's reclamation work in the disputed Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea has done severe harm to one of the most important coral reef systems in Southeast Asia.

An aerial file photo taken though a glass window of a Philippine military plane shows the alleged on-going land reclamation by China on Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines in this May 11, 2015 file photo.

China's use of dredged sand and coral to build artificial islands on seven reefs had also damaged reef systems beyond the outposts, meaning the affected area could be greater than first thought, several scientists who have studied satellite images of the Spratlys told Reuters.

China’s changing status quo in East Sea meets with int’l objection

Overseas Vietnamese in Switzerland together with numerous friends and peace lovers around the world joined a march in Geneva on June 27 to condemn China’s alteration of the status quo in the East Sea.

Overseas Vietnamese in Switzerland and numerous friends and peace lovers around the world joined a march in Geneva, Switzerland

Participants also signed a letter of protest asking UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and international organisations to object to China’s perverse acts and enact necessary intervention measures to guarantee peace, stability, security and safety of aviation and navigation in the East Sea.

Associations in France concerned about East Sea situation

As many as 31 Vietnamese, French and French-Vietnamese associations and organisations have signed a petition expressing their concerns over China’s recent actions that increased tensions in the East Sea.

The petition wrote that the situation in the East Sea is destabilized by recent events threatening the freedom of navigation, causing tensions and reducing opportunities to find an international diplomatic solution.

The signatories desired to extend a message of humanity to Vietnamese people, who have tirelessly struggled for national independence, built a peaceful and stable environment and protected territorial sovereignty within the framework of international law.

The Truth About 'Aggression' in the South China Sea

Satellite images showing the extent of land reclamation of China and Vietnam in South China Sea have sparked debates about who the biggest aggressor is and what the status quo is (see: “Who Is the Biggest Aggressor in the South China Sea?,” “Who Is the Biggest Aggressor in the South China Sea? (A Rejoinder),” and “The South China Sea: Defining the ‘Status Quo’“).

It’s time to put things in perspective in the South China Sea

To be specific, concept of “aggression” is mentioned in the Resolution 3314 of United Nations General Assembly on the 14th of December, 1972. Aggression is the use of armed force by a state against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations. The aggressed Nation has the right to defend itself.

Scientists alarmed over China island building in disputed sea

Concern is mounting among some scientists that China's reclamation work in the disputed Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea has done severe harm to one of the most important coral reef systems in Southeast Asia.

An aerial file photo taken though a glass window of a Philippine military plane shows the alleged on-going land reclamation by China on Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines in this May 11, 2015 file photo

Those concerns contrast with repeated official Chinese statements that Beijing is committed to protecting reefs and the broader marine environment in the South China Sea in keeping with its obligations under United Nations conventions.

China’s land reclamation triggers major concern

The Diplomat, an online international news magazine covering politics, society and culture in the Asia- Pacific, on June 24, published an article about China’s land reclamation in the East Sea, internationally known as the South China Sea. 
The article “The truth about ‘aggression’ in the South China Sea” was written by Nguyen Hong Thao, an Assistant Professor in Law at the National University of Hanoi, Vietnam. Thao, who also serves at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, has pointed out that China’s bases are clearly of an offensive nature and threaten regional peace and stability. This is why the United States, the G7 and other countries have felt compelled to protest. Vietnam News Agency would like to introduce the full text of the article: 

Satellite images showing the extent of land reclamation of China and Vietnam in South China Sea have sparked debates about who the biggest aggressor is and what the status quo is.

China deploys drilling platform to East Vietnam Sea again for oil exploration

China has deployed its Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil drilling rig to the East Vietnam Sea again for oil and gas exploration, afterremoving it from the sea nearly a year ago, the Chinese Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) announced on Thursday.

Haiyang Shiyou 981

The platform is now located at 17°03'75’' North latitude and 109°59’05’’ East longitude, in an area west-northwest of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and south of the mouth of the Gulf of Tonkin, according to the MSA.
The rig will conduct oil and gas exploration activities from June 25 to August 20, 2015, the MSA said.

China unilaterally changing status quo in the spratlys

Video - China unilaterally changing status quo in the spratlys:

As Tensions With U.S. Grow, Beijing Says It Will Stop Building Artificial Islands in South China Sea

By declaring Tuesday that it would soon complete its contentious program of building artificial islands in the South China Sea, Beijing hopes to diminish tensions with the United States while reassuring its home audience that it has delivered on its pledge to resist American military pressure, experts said.

Viewed from a plane, China's construction of an island near Mischief Reef, part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. CreditPool photo by Ritchie B. Tongo

Leaders from the United States and China are set to meet next week in Washington at a major annual conference, the Strategic and Economic Dialogue. A topic of the talks there is expected to be the Obama administration’s opposition to China’s building in the disputed waters, including the construction of a runway capable of handling military aircraft.

China criticised for weapon deployment to artificial islands

International experts have warned that China’s deployment of weapons to an artificial island it is developing in the East Sea is posing a risk of a military crisis. 

Senator John McCain

The “The Wall Street Journal” newspaper recently posted an article about the US surveillance imagery that has detected two Chinese motorised artillery weapons on one of the artificial islands illegally built by China one month ago.
Senator John McCain, Chairman of the US Senate’s Armed Services Committee, said that the move is a disturbing and escalatory development. 

Vietnam attends 25th meeting of UNCLOS member nations

Vietnam has underlined the significant role of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in creating legal frameworks for promoting the exploitation of seas and oceans in a peaceful, fair, stable and effective manner for humankind’s peace and prosperity.

Addressing the 25th meeting of State Parties to the UNCLOS, which took place in New York, the US from June 8-12, the head of Vietnam’s Permanent Representative Delegation to the UN, Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga noted that the East Sea, which is rich in natural resources and the second largest maritime route in the world, should be safeguarded and used in a sustainable way.

The ambassador stressed the need to maintain peace, stability, navigation security, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea in line with the UNCLOS and international law.

East Sea situation discussed in Poland

Polish researchers, politicians and reporters as well as overseas Vietnamese in Poland gathered in a seminar in Warsaw on June 11 to discuss issues related to recent developments in the East Sea.

At the workshop

Rafal Tomanski, a reporter from Rzeczpospolita newspaper reviewed major actions of China in the East Sea, including its deployment of an oil rig to Vietnam’s waters and the construction of artificial islands in the sea. 

Australia opposes China’s unilateral moves in East Sea

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott voiced his country’s stance on the East Sea issue on June 4, opposing China’s unilateral moves to expand its territory in the sea.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott voiced his country’s stance on the East Sea issue on June 4, opposing China’s unilateral moves to expand its territory in the sea.

In an interview in Canberra, he said Australia has maintained a clear position on the East Sea, not taking sides in the many territorial disputes in that region but deploring any unilateral alteration of the status quo. 

China is a threat: US scholar

This is the second article in a series written Hoang Huong during her trip to Hawaii (USA), Beijing and Hainan (China), Masinloc and Manila (the Philippines) and Singapore with journalists from 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region to discuss the East Sea (South China Sea) conflict, held by the Jefferson Fellowships program of the East-West Center (USA).

The reef of Mischeft where China is conducting land reclaimation

 The three scholars mentioned in the article are Dr. Mr. Denny Roy, a senior expert on governance and security from the East-West Center (USA), Prof. Sherry P. Broder, a lecturer at the William S. Richardson Law School, University of Hawaii (USA) and Dr. Li Guoqiang, a researcher in the field of philosophy and social sciences from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Experts support US role in ensuring freedom of navigation in East Vietnam Sea

Most international experts and scholars reached by TuoiTreNews have voiced their support for the US role in exercising freedom of navigation in the East Vietnam Sea over recent tensions related to artificial islands illegally built by China there.  

>> Vietnam legislature should issue resolution against China’s illegal acts in East Sea: lawmaker

U.S fighter jets on standby at the upper deck of a USS George Washington aircraft carrier while a U.S. Cowpens ship pass during a media tour in the East Vietnam Sea, 170 nautical miles from Manila September 3, 2010.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal on May 12, the U.S. military is considering using aircraft and naval ships to directly contest Chinese territorial claims to a chain of rapidly expanding artificial islands. 

China’s East Sea plot – “What is done by night appears by day”

No matter what its excuses, China’s armaments on illegally occupied islands in the East Sea (South China Sea) show danger to regional security.

Photo released by CSIS and EPA in 2015 on China’s illegal land reclamations on the Fiery Cross Reef of Vietnam’s Truong Sa Archipelago.

Admiral Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 30, said that Beijing uses artificial islands to "implement international obligations".

He said that " international obligations and responsibility" includes "search and rescue, prevent disasters, marine scientific research, meteorological observations, environmental protection, maritime safety, seafood production"...

Vietnam legislature should issue resolution against China’s illegal acts in East Sea: lawmaker

The Vietnamese government should report to the National Assembly about China’s illegitimate activities in the East Vietnam Sea and the law-making body should issue a resolution against them, a legislator has proposed.

>> China must immediately halt construction on Vietnamese islands: Spokesman

Many cranes of Chinese construction units are seen illegally operating on Hughes Reef, part of Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago in the East Vietnam Sea.

The Vietnamese government should report to the National Assembly about China’s illegitimate activities in the East Vietnam Sea and the law-making body should issue a resolution against them, a legislator has proposed.

China’s land reclamation in East Sea violates Vietnam’s sovereignty

China’s construction of large-scale artificial islands in the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago and its deployment of weaponry to these islands have brazenly violated Vietnam’s sovereignty, concerning neighbouring countries and the international community regarding security, safety and freedom of aviation and navigation in the East Sea. 

The issues also attracted great interest and was the focus of discussions at the 14 th Shangri-la Dialogue, recently held in Singapore. 

According to Colonel Vu Khanh, a Vietnamese expert on international affairs, participating experts and scholars raised scores of questions about China’s acts and its inconsistent explanations for warning US surveillance plane and warships to leave the airspace above and near the artificial islands China is developing in the East Sea. 

Pentagon mulls sending planes, ships near disputed East Vietnam Sea islands

The Pentagon is considering sending U.S. military aircraft and ships to assert freedom of navigation around rapidly growing Chinese-made artificial islands in the disputed East Vietnam Sea, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

>> Obama: China 'using muscle' to dominate in South China Sea

An aerial photo taken though a glass window of a Philippine military plane shows the alleged on-going land reclamation by China on mischief reef in the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago in the East Vietnam Sea, May 11, 2015.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter requested options that include sending U.S. military ships and aircraft within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of reefs that China has been building up in Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, the official said.