In April, two Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers made a historic port call at Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam, which has strategic importance, as it fronts the South China Sea.
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Reports have emerged of Vietnam fortifying several of its islands in the South China Sea with mobile rocket launchers capable of striking China’s runways and military installations across the vital trade route.
Similarly, ASEAN countries benefited very little – symbolically and substantially – from a policy of confronting China. China’s defence minister Chang Wanquan has called for a “people’s war at sea” to push back against threats to Chinese claims.
The statement added that both Beijing and Manila would seek to promote fishing cooperation, marine preservation, and tourism but made no specific mention of the South China Sea or the ruling, and did not set a timeframe for possible talks. The stakes of what happens in the waters around South China Sea are as high for India as they are for the regional states. There is also a long history of conflicts between the two countries. The country that enjoys jurisdiction over this or that specific island will be able to extract hydrocarbons in the 20-mile zone around it. “India should consider this”.
He said despite the landmark arbitration award, China has remained defiant and has kept on building military facilities on the disputed islands.
Hua Chunying responded, “China’s position on the issue of Diaoyu Dao is clear and consistent, that is, Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands is an inherent part of China’s territory, and China has indisputable sovereignty over them and the adjacent waters”.
THE PHILIPPINES can not do anything but watch as China continues its military buildup and activities in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) despite the favorable verdict it got from an worldwide arbitral tribunal.
The divided Association of Southeast Asian Nations was weak in urging China to abide by the ruling, while the United States’ naval exercises in the West Philippine Sea never bothered Beijing.
The Hague tribunal’s verdict is not mandatory, though.
“The resolution of the dispute is not going to happen overnight”.
Baja said not even former president Fidel Ramos, who was sent as special envoy to China, will solve the issue immediately.
He added that while Vietnam has become a dynamic economy after 30 years of extensive reforms, India has enjoyed the fastest economic growth in the world. Its economy has achieved considerable growth.
“During the visit, discussion about the two important summits will be on the top of the agenda for the goal of building up consensus and making the summits successful”, she said about Wang’s upcoming visit to New Delhi.
Just until recently, he explains, Beijing was hopeful its huge investment in the Chinese economy (up to 90 major joint projects are in progress there) would make Hanoi more pliable.
He stated that negotiations were going on for Vietnam to buy the supersonic BrahMos missile from India. “Hanoi has apparently decided that military muscle is more important than Chinese investment”, he believes.
Vietnamese soldiers on parade a year ago during the visit of US Secretary of State for Defence, Ashton Carter.
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“The United States finds fearsome China’s aggressive growth and its active penetration into the European economy”. However, Hanoi has hinted in the past that it would be ready to take such a step and has the right to do so.
