By Jesse Eells-Adams, Guardian Liberty Voice
On Tuesday, tensions between China and Vietnam escalated to near acts of war when a Chinese coast guard vessel apparently rammed into a Vietnamese coast guard vessel. The Vietnamese ship allegedly sustained some major damage, but did not sink. The sailors aboard the ship were not injured.
This video grab image taken on June 1, 2014 from Vietnam Coast Guard ship 2016 and released on June 5, 2014 shows the Chinese Coast Guard ship 46001 (L) chasing a Vietnamese vessel near to the site of the Chinese oil rig in the disputed waters in the South China Sea, off Vietnam’s central coast. China fired water cannon at a Vietnamese vessel and damaged another of Hanoi’s ships, Chinese state media said on June 3, in the latest confrontation over disputed waters in the South China Sea. (Photo: STR/AFP/Getty Images)
On May 26, a Chinese vessel rammed into a Vietnamese civilian fishing boat and sank it. On Sunday, two naval confrontations occurred between the two countries. The first was another Chinese coast guard vessel televised by a Vietnamese news station apparently spraying a Vietnamese inspection vessel with a water hose, causing the Vietnamese vessel to return to port for repair. The second incident was a Vietnamese coast guard ship ramming a Chinese ship. The Vietnamese ship sustained heavy damage.
The dispute is over the hotly contested South China Sea, in which several different countries claim different degrees of economic and territorial sovereignty. On May 2 China deployed an oil drilling platform or oil rig to the South China Sea, escorted by several naval ships and fighter jets. The purpose of the expedition was to search for areas in which to drill for oil. The rig is owned by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, and is now anchored not far east from Vietnamese territory of Ly Son Island. Chinese experts say this $1 billion rig will likely find a gas field after surveys determined the area a spot for anchoring. Vietnam currently is drilling two fields west of the Chinese rig. In these two fields, Exxon Mobil declared oil and gas present in 2011-2012.
The South China Sea is in the middle of a handful of Southeast Asian countries, and apparently contains a multitude of natural resources used by these nations to sustain their livelihood, including fishing grounds. China lays claim to an area defined by their “nine-dash-line” which extends south and east through the South China Sea. The line juts up against the countries of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines.
Read the full story by Jesse Eells-Adams from Guardian Liberty Voice.
