Vietnam put on a show of military strength in the tense South China Sea yesterday, risking the ire of Beijing in the face of a deepening maritime rift with its powerful neighbor.
Relations between the communist nations have sunk to their lowest point in years following recent sea confrontations which re-ignited a long-standing dispute over sovereignty of two potentially oil-rich archipelagos.
A first barrage of naval artillery, lasting about four hours, took place about 40km off Quang Nam Province in central Vietnam, said a naval officer in Danang City who asked not to be named.
He declined to reveal how many ships had been mobilized, but said no missiles were fired. A similar night drill would start at 7pm and last about five hours, the officer added.
Although Vietnam’s foreign ministry described it as routine annual training, analysts said the drill had raised temperatures in the South China Sea, where Asian nations have conflicting claims over potentially energy-rich waters.
The exercise “is designed to send China a message that Vietnam refuses to be pushed around,” said Ian Storey, a regional security analyst with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
The drills are inside the area Vietnam claims as its 200 nautical mile (370km) economic zone.
Hanoi last month accused Chinese surveillance vessels of cutting the exploration cables of an oil survey ship inside the same area and on Thursday Vietnam alleged a similar incident in the zone, saying a Chinese fishing boat rammed the cables of another oil survey ship in a “premeditated” attack.
Beijing countered by warning Vietnam to halt all activities that it says violate China’s sovereignty in the disputed area.
“No one wants a war, but the possibility of some shots being fired in anger or of some ships running into other ships has increased,” said Ralph Cossa, president of the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum CSIS, a research institute.
Despite that possibility, Cossa said all sides will work to ensure that any escalation does “not get out of control.”
The US said it is “troubled” by tensions triggered by the maritime dispute.
The naval drill is about 250km from the Paracel Islands (西沙群島) and almost 1,000km from the Spratlys (南沙群島), the archipelagos which are claimed by both nations and which straddle strategic shipping lanes.
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