Translated from Vietnamese by Ailien Tran
Radio Free Asia
26 August 2008
News sources
have informed that Chinese missile-equipped boats camouflaged as fishing boats
often enter in Vietnam's
territorial water, where BP and PetroVietnam planned to search for oil in
recent past. BP pulled out of the deal because of pressure from Beijing.
Disputed waters
Informed sources in Washington
told Radio Free Asia that recently, many Chinese fishing boats have been loitering
in the disputed waters where British Petroleum contracted with PetroVietnam to
search for oil.
This news source,
considered credible, added that these Chinese military boats disguised as
fishing boats appear in Vietnam's
Gulf of Tonkin, which is under Vietnamese
sovereignty.
Sources also
revealed that some of these boats are equipped with short-range missiles,
capable of destroying battleships.
The source is not certain when these boats started frequenting the area,
whether or not it was before of after the US Ambassador in Hanoi declaring that
the US definitely does not want any interference with any commercial
transaction that American companies are conducting.
The South China Morning Post on August 20, 2008 cited US Ambassador in Vietnam, Michael
Michalak's declaration that it is up to American companies to decide with whom
or when they would sign a commercial contract.
While international news agencies are busy reporting news of an immoral British
singer who has just been released by Hanoi and
deported back to England,
Vietnamese media is silent about the incidents in Gulf
of Tonkin because Hanoi
is trying to avoid conflict with Beijing.
Obviously, Michalak has stated the U.S.’s
stance regarding Beijing's objection over the
deal between ExxonMobile and PetroVietnam on the Southern part of Vietnam's Eastern Sea.
Beijing
admitted having said that if ExxonMobile didn’t want to be excluded from future
contract with China,
ExxonMobile should cancel this deal.
U.S.
Stance
Speaker of US Department of State, on July 27, 2008, answered RFA that the US is against Beijing's
pressure on ExxonMobile's to cease the contract with Vietnam.
During the visit to the US
by Vietnam's Prime Minister,
Nguyen Tan Dung, PetroVietnam signed contract with ExxonMobile to search for
oil in the sea area outside of Central and South Vietnam. Although Vietnam has affirmed its sovereignty over the
area with many credible historical evidences, China
insists this whole area of Vietnam's
Eastern Sea
(aka South China Sea) is its own territory.
South China Morning Post reported that many oil companies in England, France,
and Russia such as BP, Total
and Gazprom confirmed that they really intend to escalate cooperation with Vietnam.
Indeed, BP, though being pressured by China to pull out last year, is
anxious to resurrect the deal.
Of course,
these companies are aware that China
pays careful attention to the energy potential on the South of Vietnam's Eastern Sea. They expressed their concerns
over China's threat to their
future activities since China
is a huge market.
Together with ExxonMobile, BP, Total, and Gazprom have expressed confidence in
the legal standing of Vietnam’s
sovereignty over the area consistent with UN Law of Sea. An officer in
these companies told South China Morning Post that the contracts signed with Vietnam are legitimate, and they all are waiting
to see how far China's
aggressive threat would be. Before the news about Chinese military boats,
camouflaged as fishing boats, frequenting on Vietnamese waters, these companies
still believe that such threat is just limited in commercial boundary.
From the American side, Ambassador Michalak expressed that Washington
is satisfied with the legal nature of the activities of ExxonMobile's,
considered to have a close relationship with the US government.
He even emphasized
to international news reporters regarding the declaration of Bush and Dung,
confirming the complete sovereignty over Vietnamese land and sea. The
declaration reflects partly the subliminal intention toward a deeper
cooperation between Vietnam
and the US in balancing Beijing’s rising power.
The article on the South China Morning Post did not mention about the incident
of Chinese military boats equipped with missles and camouflaged as fishing
boats roaming on Vietnamese waters. However, SCMP indicates that while China has been vocal
about its territorial ownership, it has not been doing everything it wants to
enforce this view.
http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_depth/Chinese-fishing-boats-with-missiles-hang-out-off-Vietnam-seaside-DHieu-08262008110654.html
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