Vietnam said it resolutely opposes a temporary Chinese ban on fishing in parts of the Gulf of Tonkin, the latest in a series of sovereignty disputes in and around the South China Sea.
China’s move came as the two neighbors seek to patch up ties since a bilateral row erupted in May last year when China deployed a US$1 billion oil rig in waters claimed by Taiwan, Vietnam and China. That led to confrontations at sea between rival vessels and violent anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam.
The ban on all fishing activities between Saturday last week and Aug. 1 violates international law and Vietnam’s sovereignty and jurisdictional rights, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement posted on its Web site late on Saturday.
China launched the annual fishing ban in 1999 “to promote the sustainable development of the fishing industry in the South China Sea and protect the fundamental interests of fishermen,” according to state news agency Xinhua. Authorities have threatened violators with fines, license revocations, confiscations and possible criminal charges.
Taiwan, China and Vietnam have overlapping claims to large parts of the South China Sea and various remote islands and reefs. Tensions rose in 2012 and last year after Beijing detained several Vietnamese fishermen for fishing in disputed waters. Both sides accused the other of intimidation and intentionally ramming rival vessels.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that the rules are meant to protect marine resources in the area.
“This is China’s international responsibility and obligation,” ministry spokesman Hong Lei (洪磊) told reporters.
On Sunday, Chinese Minister of Defense Chang Wanquan (常萬全) told Vietnamese Minister of Defense Phung Quang Thanh that both countries have “the wisdom and capability to achieve success in tackling maritime issues,” the state-run China Daily newspaper reported. The meeting, the first between the two countries’ defense ministers, took place in China’s southwestern Yunnan Province.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
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