Hanoi is marking for the first time the anniversary of a deadly 1974 battle between China and US-backed South Vietnamese forces in the South China Sea, apparently seeking to boost its legitimacy at home as tensions over the disputed waters flare anew.
The fight, in which 74 South Vietnamese soldiers died, followed China’s occupation of the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), which are also claimed by Taiwan. It is especially sensitive because the government of North Vietnam did not counter the Chinese move, or even acknowledge that force was used. At the time, Beijing was giving North Vietnam arms and money to fight the US and Vietnamese troops from the south.
Anti-China sentiment is widespread in Vietnam, and the Hanoi government is vulnerable to charges it is not tough enough against Beijing, something that pro-democracy groups are keen to exploit. Overseas Vietnamese groups and dissidents have traditionally marked the battle.
State-run media have been running stories on the anniversary, which is today, as well as interviews with families of the victims, who have never received any support from the government.
Vietnamese media do not report on issues concerning China without the approval of the Vietnamese government.
“After a long time, the deaths of my husband and others seemed to fall into oblivion, but I’m very glad that they have been mentioned,” online newspaper Vietnam.net quoted Huynh Thi Sinh, the widow of the captain of the naval ship who died along with 73 others, as having said. “Maybe in his world he’s feeling satisfied. His sacrifice is very meaningful. I’m proud.”
Authorities in central Vietnam said they were organizing exhibitions and workshops to mark the 40th anniversary of China’s “illegal occupation” of the Paracels.
Hoang Sa People’s Committee chairman Dang Cong Ngu said candles will be lit on Danang beach to commemorate those who died, including the 74 South Vietnamese soldiers. The Vietnamese and Chinese navies clashed again in 1988 in the disputed Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), killing 64 Vietnamese sailors. That clash has not been marked either.
Illustrating the difficult path the Vietnamese government is treading, online dissident groups announced plans to protest against China in Hanoi today.
Similar demonstrations have occasionally occurred over the past few years. They are normally quickly broken up by Vietnamese authorities, who are highly nervous of any sign of organized public protest. Vietnam and other states sharing the South China Sea are increasingly concerned over China’s growing military and diplomatic assertiveness in pressing its territorial claims in the waters, which are believed to have significant oil and gas reserves. Vietnam’s economic dependence on its giant neighbor means its options are limited despite popular demand that it speak out.
Last week, Hanoi released a sharply worded statement against a Chinese law that requires foreign fishermen to seek Beijing’s approval to operate in much of the South China Sea. The move has led to fears of confrontation in the strategic waters.
MONEY MATTERS: Xi was to highlight projects such as a new high-speed railway between Belgrade and Budapest, as Serbia is entirely open to Chinese trade and investment Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic yesterday said that “Taiwan is China” as he made a speech welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to Belgrade, state broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) said. “We have a clear and simple position regarding Chinese territorial integrity,” he told a crowd outside the government offices while Xi applauded him. “Yes, Taiwan is China.” Xi landed in Belgrade on Tuesday night on the second leg of his European tour, and was greeted by Vucic and most government ministers. Xi had just completed a two-day trip to France, where he held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron as the
With the midday sun blazing, an experimental orange and white F-16 fighter jet launched with a familiar roar that is a hallmark of US airpower, but the aerial combat that followed was unlike any other: This F-16 was controlled by artificial intelligence (AI), not a human pilot, and riding in the front seat was US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall. AI marks one of the biggest advances in military aviation since the introduction of stealth in the early 1990s, and the US Air Force has aggressively leaned in. Even though the technology is not fully developed, the service is planning
INTERNATIONAL PROBE: Australian and US authorities were helping coordinate the investigation of the case, which follows the 2015 murder of Australian surfers in Mexico Three bodies were found in Mexico’s Baja California state, the FBI said on Friday, days after two Australians and an American went missing during a surfing trip in an area hit by cartel violence. Authorities used a pulley system to hoist what appeared to be lifeless bodies covered in mud from a shaft on a cliff high above the Pacific. “We confirm there were three individuals found deceased in Santo Tomas, Baja California,” a statement from the FBI’s office in San Diego, California, said without providing the identities of the victims. Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Jack Carter
CUSTOMS DUTIES: France’s cognac industry was closely watching the talks, fearing that an anti-dumping investigation opened by China is retaliation for trade tensions French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at one of his beloved childhood haunts in the Pyrenees, seeking to press a message to Beijing not to support Russia’s war against Ukraine and to accept fairer trade. The first day of Xi’s state visit to France, his first to Europe since 2019, saw respectful, but sometimes robust exchanges between the two men during a succession of talks on Monday. Macron, joined initially by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urged Xi not to allow the export of any technology that could be used by Russia in its invasion