The escalating tension in the East Sea, a key navigation route as wellas a site believed to habour vast deposits of oil, did and will haveconsiderable implications for regional security, foreign scholars saidat a round-table workshop in Singapore on May 28.
Discussionsat the workshop focused on issues related to the current situation inthe East Sea, including legal foundations for parties concerned to claimsovereignty, Indonesia’s role as a voice of moderation and mediation inthe troubled waters, China’s sea strategy and the United States’strategy of pivot to Asia.
Increased interests in the East Seaby countries beyond the region, such as India, the Republic of Korea,Australia and New Zealand, and possible scenarios for the East Seasituation were also put on the table.
Most speakers expressedconcern about China’s increasingly assertive acts in territorial disputewith its neighbouring countries. They stressed that ASEAN and Chinashould quickly reach a Code of Conduct in the East Sea as soon aspossible, as peace, stability and freedom of trade and navigation in theEast Sea are the interest of not only ASEAN but also other countries inthe world.
Talking with Vietnam News Agency correspondents,Dr. Leszek Buszynski from the Australia National University’s NationalSecurity College said there is very little legal basis for China’snine-dash line in the East Sea, and the Chinese themselves have greatdifficulty trying to justify it.
Meanwhile, Prof. Dr K.S.Nathan from the National University of Malaysia held that if force isbeing used to intimidate any of the other claimants, it will invitecounterforce. “That’s why we see that other external partners are alsogetting more and more interested in the East Sea dispute because theyare interested in the safety of sea lines of communication, the freeflow of commerce, free flow of trade on which the prosperity ofSoutheast Asia and Asia has depended for a long time,” he said.
Many speakers said besides other challenges such as pirate, terrorismand human trafficking, water territorial disputes are posing thegreatest obstacle to efforts to create a good order in ASEAN region.Therefore, Mira Permatasari, a staff of the Office of Private Secretaryto Indonesia President said a greater role of ASEAN as a key driver isneeded to solve the dispute.
At the beginning of May, Chinaillegally dispatched the Haiyang Shiyou-981 rig, as well as a largefleet of armed vessels, military ships and aircraft, to Vietnam’s watersand positioned the rig at 15 degrees 29 minutes 58 seconds northlatitude and 111 degrees 12 minutes 06 seconds east longitude. Thelocation is 80 miles deep inside Vietnam’s continental shelf andexclusive economic zone.
On May 27, China moved the rig to15 degrees 33 minutes 22 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 34minutes 36 seconds east longitude. The new location is 25 nautical milesfrom Tri Ton Island in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago and 23 nauticalmiles east-northeast from the old location, still completely withinVietnam’s continental shelf. With the move, China has kept on violatingVietnam’s sovereign right and jurisdiction.
Chinese ships haverepeatedly rammed and fired water cannons into Vietnamese coast guardand fisheries surveillance ships which are carrying out their lawenforcement missions in the country’s waters, leaving many Vietnameseships damaged and many fisheries surveillance officers injured.-VNA
Discussionsat the workshop focused on issues related to the current situation inthe East Sea, including legal foundations for parties concerned to claimsovereignty, Indonesia’s role as a voice of moderation and mediation inthe troubled waters, China’s sea strategy and the United States’strategy of pivot to Asia.
Increased interests in the East Seaby countries beyond the region, such as India, the Republic of Korea,Australia and New Zealand, and possible scenarios for the East Seasituation were also put on the table.
Most speakers expressedconcern about China’s increasingly assertive acts in territorial disputewith its neighbouring countries. They stressed that ASEAN and Chinashould quickly reach a Code of Conduct in the East Sea as soon aspossible, as peace, stability and freedom of trade and navigation in theEast Sea are the interest of not only ASEAN but also other countries inthe world.
Talking with Vietnam News Agency correspondents,Dr. Leszek Buszynski from the Australia National University’s NationalSecurity College said there is very little legal basis for China’snine-dash line in the East Sea, and the Chinese themselves have greatdifficulty trying to justify it.
Meanwhile, Prof. Dr K.S.Nathan from the National University of Malaysia held that if force isbeing used to intimidate any of the other claimants, it will invitecounterforce. “That’s why we see that other external partners are alsogetting more and more interested in the East Sea dispute because theyare interested in the safety of sea lines of communication, the freeflow of commerce, free flow of trade on which the prosperity ofSoutheast Asia and Asia has depended for a long time,” he said.
Many speakers said besides other challenges such as pirate, terrorismand human trafficking, water territorial disputes are posing thegreatest obstacle to efforts to create a good order in ASEAN region.Therefore, Mira Permatasari, a staff of the Office of Private Secretaryto Indonesia President said a greater role of ASEAN as a key driver isneeded to solve the dispute.
At the beginning of May, Chinaillegally dispatched the Haiyang Shiyou-981 rig, as well as a largefleet of armed vessels, military ships and aircraft, to Vietnam’s watersand positioned the rig at 15 degrees 29 minutes 58 seconds northlatitude and 111 degrees 12 minutes 06 seconds east longitude. Thelocation is 80 miles deep inside Vietnam’s continental shelf andexclusive economic zone.
On May 27, China moved the rig to15 degrees 33 minutes 22 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 34minutes 36 seconds east longitude. The new location is 25 nautical milesfrom Tri Ton Island in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago and 23 nauticalmiles east-northeast from the old location, still completely withinVietnam’s continental shelf. With the move, China has kept on violatingVietnam’s sovereign right and jurisdiction.
Chinese ships haverepeatedly rammed and fired water cannons into Vietnamese coast guardand fisheries surveillance ships which are carrying out their lawenforcement missions in the country’s waters, leaving many Vietnameseships damaged and many fisheries surveillance officers injured.-VNA
