Editor’s note: Since China brought oil rigs into Vietnam’s waters in the South China Sea on May 2, tensions between China and Vietnam have escalated by the day. In Washington, D.C., the State Department described China’s action as “dangerous and intimidating.” At local levels, many U.S. elected officials have expressed their concerns about the situation. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), who represents Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Orange and Anaheim, expressed her views through an interview with Ha Giang of Nguoi Viet.
Hà Giang (NV): What do you think about the fact that China has brought a gigantic oil rig into Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone, and that Chinese ships have attacked Vietnamese vessels with water cannons, as well as ramming into these vessels?
Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez: I am deeply concerned about China’s aggressive actions and violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the South China Sea, and I am concerned about any dangerous conduct at sea. As the senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, I would oppose any acts of intimidation by vessels, including and particularly with respect to the disputed seas.
NV: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher mentioned in a recent interview with us that you and he are working very closely together on this issue. Would you speak to these activities?
Congresswoman Sanchez: We have to first educate our Congress members and our colleagues. As you know, we are generalists, which means everybody works on their particular area, and then rely on us and other members of the Congress to know about a particular situation. And of course, representing the largest Vietnamese American community, probably the largest one outside of Vietnam, we have been trying to figure out how we get this information to our other colleagues and more importantly, what are the types of things that we can do. … The State Department has warned China, saying that these types of actions are not good. The senators are putting out some information in the upper house, so we are trying to do the same thing from the House of Representatives.
NV: Have you been following the protests in Vietnam? If so, are you surprised by the fact the Vietnamese government is now allowing people to protest, whereas they put people in prison before for demonstrating against China, and as a matter of fact, some of them are still in prison today?
Congresswoman Sanchez: Isn’t it interesting that the government is now allowing people to assemble to protest and even to riot when it’s against China, but when the Vietnamese themselves try to assemble even for church, or against some of the government’s actions, the government immediately squashed those efforts. So I think it’s pretty hypocritical on the part of the Vietnamese government, but nonetheless, we are on the side of the Vietnamese people. This is a very serious issue, the issue of sovereignty and being able to just go in and put in oil rigs in an area that technically has been disputed for a long time, and certainly in part has belonged to Vietnam for so many ages.
NV: The U.S. State Department described China’s actions in Vietnam’s water as being “provocative and unhelpful” for peace in the region. Do you agree that China’s actions pose a threat to peace in Southeast Asia?
Congresswoman Sanchez: Well, we know that the international community has condemned some of these actions. We know that the U.S. State Department has said that we don’t want ― in particular with respect to the issue of provoking the ships in the South China Sea ― that we don’t want to see this situation escalate and really be on the brink of a fight over territorial conflict. So I think it is very important for the whole international community to come together and decide how they are going to react to China’s provocations, because it is provocative and very unhelpful for securing that region.
NV: Mr. Daniel Russel, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said that Washington was concerned about China’s “dangerous conduct.” In reality, how concerned do you think the U.S. really is about the situation?
Congresswoman Sanchez: Oh, I believe certainly the State Department is concerned. We are concerned about it because China has territorial disputes not just with Vietnam, but with Japan, with the Philippines, with so many other countries, that if we allow this type of thing to happen, then my fear is that they, China, will be emboldened and go after other countries’ disputed areas and provoke more war. This action by China has [led to a] very serious possibility of plunging the whole Asian Southeast area into war.
NV: If this situation became more serious, what do you think the U.S. is willing to do, and what do you think our government should do?
Congresswoman Sanchez: I believe there are various things that we can do. Certainly, there is always the possibility of getting others, especially in the area, to embargo, to stop trade, to sanction. There’s the possibility of getting all countries in the area to get together. But most importantly, the U.S. should make the best diplomatic efforts with each of the countries in that region and with China.
NV: If the Vietnamese government sent a representative to seek your opinion, what would you advise them to do?
Congresswoman Sanchez: The people in Vietnam are demonstrating against China’s aggression and are calling on the government of Vietnam to implement appropriate effective measures to stop the Chinese invasion of these water territories immediately. We would stand with the Vietnamese people and would encourage the Vietnamese government to put forth diplomatic efforts with those other nations that are also being threatened by China. We, the U.S., will be there to help them to work with the other nations to resolve that territorial dispute through diplomatic channels.
NV: What do you think Vietnamese Americans should do to help fight against China aggression?
Congresswoman Sanchez: I think the people inside Vietnam are very brave in standing up and asking the government to push back China’s aggression. The best thing Vietnamese Americans can do is to keep abreast of the situation, to make your voices heard, to help us understand what is going on inside Vietnam and work with your Congress people to educate the rest of Congress and to put pressure on China when and where necessary [to] discourage their aggressive and bully actions.
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