A Chinese research ship and its escort, which operated for nearly a month in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea and prompted a rare protest from Hanoi, left those waters late on Monday.
Chinese vessel Xiang Yang Hong 10 began sailing in Vietnam’s EEZ on May 7, at times flanked by a dozen ships, regularly crossing gas and oil fields operated by Russian companies, according to vessel-tracking data.
The Chinese vessel and its entourage of more than half a dozen ships began their journey back to China’s Hainan island, leaving Vietnam’s EEZ around midnight, the data showed.
Asked about the movements of the ships, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not comment about the return to Hainan.
“It is legitimate and legal for Chinese research vessels to carry out normal research activities in waters under its jurisdiction, and there is no such issue about entering the exclusive economic zones of other countries,” ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) told a regular press conference yesterday.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to requests for comment.
Under international law, ships are allowed to sail through foreign EEZs, but unauthorized surveys are not permitted and China’s operations in the South China Sea have long been problematic for countries in the region, as Beijing claims most of the energy-rich sea, including foreign EEZs.
In a rare public protest on May 25, the Vietnamese government urged the Chinese research ship and its escort to leave the country’s EEZ after a visit to Hanoi by Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev.
The incident comes amid what Washington has described as “growing aggressiveness” from Beijing, following close encounters between US and Chinese ships and jets in the area.
At 3am GMT yesterday, the Chinese research ship was seen approaching Hainan, said Ray Powell, who leads Stanford University’s Project Myoushu on the South China Sea.
Vietnam’s fisheries surveillance ships turned back after the Chinese vessel and its escort left Vietnam’s EEZ around midnight Vietnam time, Powell added.
Vietnam-based researcher Van Pham, who heads independent non-profit South China Sea Chronicle Initiative, confirmed the ships had left Vietnam’s EEZ, but added that Hainan was not the research ship’s home port, and after a break there it could resume activities in the South China Sea.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese