Beijing: No clash in Vietnam sea row

BEIJING/HANOI – China yesterday rejected Vietnamese claims it acted aggressively in the South China Sea and called for a peaceful end to a bitter row sparked by Beijing’s parking of a giant oil rig in contested waters.

In a related development, China demanded yesterday that Vietnam withdraw its ships from a part of the disputed South China Sea, saying that Vietnamese ships intentionally collided with Chinese vessels in the area.

Yi Xianliang, deputy director-general of China’s ministry of foreign affairs’ department of boundary and ocean affairs, also said at a briefing that Vietnam had sent armed vessels to the area, but China only had civilian ships there.

Chinese vice foreign minister Cheng Guoping said no “clash” had taken place since the dispute erupted on the weekend.

He was responding to Vietnam’s assertions that Chinese vessels used water cannon and intentionally rammed eight of its ships, seriously damaging two, and wounding six sailors.

“I don’t believe there was a clash. I think this was a difference of opinion on some disputes,” Cheng told reporters on the sidelines of a forum in Beijing.

“The area in dispute is Chinese territory and of course we will maintain the country’s core interests and defend our sovereignty. Vietnam should know this,” Cheng said, adding that the two countries can resolve disputes through “peaceful talks.”

“This dispute is not about the entire relationship between China and Vietnam. It’s localized. It is controllable.”

The two communist nations have sought to put aside border disputes and memories of a brief border war in 1979. Vietnam is usually careful about comments against China, on which it relies for political support and bilateral trade that surpassed $50 billion in 2013.

Still, Hanoi has strongly condemned the operation of the drilling rig, the first such action by Beijing in contested waters, and told the owners, China’s state-run oil company CNOOC, to remove it.

China has parked about 80 ships around the rig, Vietnamese officials have said, adding that seven of them were military.

Vietnam’s foreign ministry on Wednesday showed reporters what it said were video clips of Chinese ships hitting Vietnamese Seaguard vessels.

International legal action

Hanoi has also hinted at international legal action and said it had requested dialogue with China’s leadership, but was awaiting a response.

Daniel Russel, the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific, reiterated Washington’s concerns about “dangerous conduct and intimidation by vessels” in the disputed area.

He met senior Vietnamese leaders yesterday and said the row had been discussed at length.

“It’s fair to say both Vietnam and China have rights to claim sovereignty over the Paracels (islands),” Russel told reporters in Hanoi.

“It is not for the US to say which position is stronger. It’s within the rights of the United States and the international community to call all parties to address the dispute in a peaceful way,” he said.

The row comes days after US President Barack Obama visited Asia to underline his commitment to allies, including Japan and the Philippines, both locked in territorial disputes with China. – Jose Katigbak, Jaime Laude