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Vietnam envoy Thanh says situation in South China Sea getting worse, India can drill SCS for oil despite China

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 12, Aug 2016, 13:27 pm IST | UPDATED: 12, Aug 2016, 13:41 pm IST

Vietnam envoy Thanh says situation in South China Sea getting worse, India can drill SCS for oil despite China  New Delhi: Vietnamese ambassador to India, Ton Sinh Thanh, here said situation in the South China Sea was getting worse between China and other countries in South-east Asia.

Speaking to reporters at Foreign Correspondent Club in New Delhi, the ambassador said that despite a ruling on the dispute by an international tribunal based in the Hague which dismissed China’s claim over the entire South China Sea, “the situation is not quite stable.”

“We do not welcome any militarisation in the region,” the ambassador said amid reports of a Chinese military buildup on seven reclaimed islands in the South China Sea.

Thanh’s comments come ahead of a visit by Modi to Vietnam, the first by an Indian prime minister in 15 years. The last prime minister to visit Hanoi was Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2001.

In the past few years, India and Vietnam have added strategic content to their bilateral ties almost coinciding with China’s military buildup in the South China Sea. In September 2014, India extended a $100 million line of credit to Vietnam for acquiring four fast track naval patrol vessels. And there is speculation that India could be selling Hanoi the BrahMos cruise missile, jointly produced by India and Russia.

On Wednesday, Thanh said he hoped Modi’s visit to Hanoi would open a “new page” in bilateral relations.

“We expect that Prime Minister Modi’s visit will be soon. It will open a new page in bilateral relationship. We hope the visit will upgrade ties to a more comprehensive level. Preparation for the visit is going on,” he said without giving any dates for Modi’s trip.

Modi is to travel to China for the G20 meeting on 4-5 September and then onwards to Laos for the India-Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) annual summit on 6-7 September. According to government officials in New Delhi, the Vietnam visit will be combined with these two, though the precise dates have not been made public.

On India’s stance on the South China Sea dispute, Thanh said Vietnam “appreciates” India’s position in which it “recognises” the international court as well as the UN Convention on Law of Seas (UNCLOS).

“The most important part is that India respects international law and especially freedom of aviation and navigation. Other countries should not use force or threat of force in the South China Sea,” Thanh said.

“The situation in South China Sea is getting worse with militarisation and so the ruling is welcome. The situation is not stable and territorial issues have not been settled yet,” Thanh said.

He added that Vietnam was trying to build “good relations” with both India and China and that mutual ties between any two countries should not be seen as “against” a third country.

Asked about India-Vietnam defence cooperation and the possible sale of BrahMos missiles, Thanh said Vietnam appreciated India’s “achievements” in the defence sector.

Referring to the $100-million line of credit, Thanh said the contractor has been chosen and the construction of the naval patrol boats would start soon with that amount.

On economic relations, Thanh said India had invested $550 million in the South-east Asian country and this amount was expected to grow with Indian companies looking to invest in the country.

Recently an international arbitration tribunal in the PCA ruled on July 12 that China violated the Philippines' rights in the South China Sea, one of the busiest commercial shipping routes in the world.

The tribunal held that fishermen from the Philippines had traditional fishing rights in Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and that China had interfered with these rights by restricting their access.

The court held that Chinese law enforcement vessels unlawfully created a serious risk of collision when they physically obstructed Philippine vessels in the region.

China is locked in disputes over the Spratly and Paracel groups of islands in the South China Sea with other countries of the region.

While the other claimants over the Spratly islands are Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, the Paracel islands are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

Thanh said that though the PCA ruling was a good development, the situation in the region was not quite stable yet.

He said that the PCA ruling has also made very clear the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Vietnam in the South China Sea. “Along with other littoral nations of the South China Sea, Vietnam also has its own EEZ,” he said.

He said Vietnam expected all parties to comply with international laws and did not welcome militarisation in the region.

Asked if Vietnam would follow the Philippines and take legal recourse to resolve the dispute, he said that his country would prefer to resolve the dispute with China through bilateral talks but if this did not work out, other processes, including legal recourse, could not be ruled out.

“China is a big economy. We want to have good relations with China but we want our sovereignty protected,” Thanh said.

Vietnam on Wednesday affirmed that India, being its strategic partner, can conduct oil exploration in a part of the South China Sea, despite Beijing’s objection, as it fell under its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh appreciated “strategic partner” India for its “positive” statement on the International Permanent Court’s verdict on South China Sea favouring Philippines’ claim.

“PM Narendra Modi generally has long visits abroad. When he is going to the G-20, Vietnam is the only country that he will visit bilaterally,” Ton Sinh told selected media representatives here. This is the first visit by an Indian PM to Vietnam in 15 years. Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had visited Vietnam in 2005. He set the foundation for strategic relations between the two countries that Modi built on by extending 100 crore line of credit for defence purchases to Hanoi.

The envoy did not comment on the shift of balance of power in the region with India and Vietnam cosying up.