HO CHI MINH CITY - The Spratly archipelago, a regional flashpoint in the South China Sea, is in danger of erupting into conflict again as the six rival claimants to the islands accuse one another of taking provocative actions - such as arranging sightseeing tours to military outposts, scuba diving and setting up "bird-watching stands". The main contenders are China and Vietnam.
Last week, China's temper flared over an announcement by a Vietnamese travel company that starting in April, it would take tourists out to the disputed islands for what it called a routine tour of the country's military outposts there. In addition to Vietnam, five of the claimants have military garrisons on islands and reefs in the Spratly chain.
China calls them the Nansha Islands, Vietnam calls them the Truong Sa and Spratlys, and they are generally known in the West as the Spratlys.
The travel company, based in Vietnam's central Khanh Hoa province, said it had received support from the country's defense ministry to organize scuba diving package tours as part of its tourist itinerary to the contested stretch of islets, reefs, shoals and sand banks, referred to by Hanoi as the Truong Sa islands.
According to a spokesman for the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, many people already have registered for the inaugural trip, which is due to leave Ho Chi Minh City on April 18 or 19.
Before announcing its package tours, however, Hanoi itself frowned at Taiwan's building of a bird-watching stand on a Vietnamese-claimed atoll and accused Taipei of going on a "land-grabbing expansion" campaign.
The Spratlys are a cluster of islands and islets rich in marine resources, oil and hydrocarbon deposits.
Aside from Vietnam and China, the Spratlys are being claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and the Philippines, which all want the right to exploit resources in the area, to exercise military, geographic and economic sovereignty over the islands and to control one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
All have signed a code of conduct, which was supposed to prohibit the construction of new structures on the disputed islands, but most claimants have violated the code and continue to build structures or put up markers in the area. The exchange between China and Vietnam is the latest reminder that the Spratlys row continues to simmer, despite some headway on managing the conflict by the six claimants.
Predictably, China, which plays the role of regional big brother and which has occupied new reefs since the 1990s, is peeved over Vietnam's latest actions and has accused Hanoi of infringing on its sovereignty by planning tours to areas of the Spratlys known in China as the Nansha Islands.
"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and surrounding waters, and the move taken by Vietnam has infringed on China's territorial sovereignty," said China's foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan in a news briefing in Beijing.
But Vietnam's foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung rejected China's claim. "China's claim violated Vietnam's sovereignty over the islands and did not conform to the real situation," he said. "Vietnam has time and again asserted its indisputable sovereignty over the Truong Sa [Spratlys] archipelago," he asserted.
Last weekend, during a visit to Singapore, Vietnamese Defense Minister Pham Van Tra was adamant. "The Spratlys are part of Vietnamese territory," he said. "We have the right to take tourists to that place."
Apparently others in the region feel that way as well. In the 1990s, Malaysia developed one reef in the Spratlys chain as a scuba diving and leisure resort.
Thus, it is not without reason that the Spratlys has earned the title of regional "flashpoint". And in the past, claims and counterclaims have resulted in violent conflict.
China has clashed with Vietnam several times over the Spratlys. The most serious skirmish was in 1988 when the Chinese and Vietnamese navies clashed at Johnson Reef; China sank several Vietnamese ships and more than 70 sailors perished. The most recent encounter was in August 2002, when Vietnamese troops based on one islet fired warning shots at Philippine military reconnaissance planes circling overhead.
But later that year, China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - which includes four of the Spratly claimants - signed a unprecedented voluntary accord in an effort to work things out without violence.
The complication now, however, is that governments continue to stake their claims through leisure tours and bird watching stands.
While China and Vietnam were engaging in their verbal spat over the diving tours, for instance, Taiwan sent a speedboat with eight workers out to a disputed reef and built what Vietnam described as a small house on stilts.
Vietnam's foreign ministry spokesman spokesman Le Dung criticized Taiwan for erecting the structure on Banthan coral reef, calling it a "grave violation" of Vietnam's territorial sovereignty. And Dung said the Taiwan side would be held responsible for all consequences that might arise from the move.
However, Richard Shih, director general of information and cultural affairs of Taiwan's "foreign ministry", said his government had no intention of creating tension and said the so-called house was in reality "an environment station, surveying migrating birds". Shih also said his government had already expressed its views to Vietnam.
Though regional tensions over the Spratlys pale in comparison to those over the Korean Peninsula and the Taiwan Strait, it is impossible to predict the actions of China and Vietnam in case of a prolonged impasse in their competing territorial claims - or a provocation.
Vietnamese foreign affairs spokesman Le Dung called on China to avoid complicating the situation, saying the two sides should observe the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the conduct of the South China Sea nations, and cease issuing unnecessary statements over the islands issue.
Both countries have agreed to meet early this month for their eighth round of talks over the South China Sea. But several developments in Vietnam have put Chinese negotiators - who at one point laid claim to 80 percent of the South China Sea - in a difficult situation.
Early this year, museums in the central provinces of Khanh Hoa and Danang held exhibitions of ancient maps, royal ordinances and official documents, asserting Vietnam's sovereignty over the Spratlys.
In Ho Chi Minh City, 65-year-old researcher Nguyen Nha publicized his doctoral thesis on Vietnam's claim over the Spratlys, declaring he would challenge international researchers, Chinese in particular, to disprove his findings, using scientific and historical documents.
"Since the 17th century, Vietnam has many official maps and documents testifying to Vietnamese presence on Truong Sa islands [the Spratlys], but China has no similar proof," he said.
China refers to the Spratly Islands as the Nansha Islands, and claims all of the islands and most of the South China Sea for historical reasons. These claims are not marked by coordinates or otherwise clearly defined.
The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 50 islands are occupied by China (about 450 soldiers), Malaysia (70-90), the Philippines (about 100), and Vietnam (about 1,500). Brunei is a claimant but has no outposts. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/pg.html
Vietnam has recently become a surprising new military partner for the U.S. which could have something to do with their pushing of the Spratly issue, because if China objects to Vietnam’s tourist activities on the Spratly Islands the airport is really going to piss them off. Gutsy move on Nam’s part, big conflicts often erupt over small islands. -Am
Vietnam's move to build airport on Nansha islands will complicate situation: spokesman
www.chinaview.cn 2004-05-18 20:55:18
BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Vietnam's move to build an airport on Nansha islands will further complicate the situation in the South China Sea, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao here Tuesday.
Liu said at a regular news conference that China holds a clear-cut stance over the issue of the Nansha islands, and China has full historical and legal evidence to prove that it possesses indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha islands and surrounding waters.
Vietnam's move has not only infringed upon China's territorial sovereignty and is illegal and invalid, Liu said, and this move also violated the commitments enshrined in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea between China and the Association of Southeastern Asian Nations (ASEAN).
It is reported that Vietnam has begun building an airport at an island of Nansha islands, and the project is expected to finish by the end of this year. Enditem
Territorial claims in the Spratly and Paracel Islands Country Claim Control Brunei Does not claim any of the islands, but claims part of the South China Seas nearest to it as part of its continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In 1984, Brunei declared an EEZ that includes Louisa Reef.
China Refers to the Spratly Islands as the Nansha islands, and claims all of the islands and most of the South China Sea for historical reasons. These claims are not marked by coordinates or otherwise clearly defined.
Chinese claims are based on a number of historical events, including the naval expeditions to the Spratly Islands by the Han Dynasty in 110 AD and the Ming Dynasty from 1403-1433 AD. Chinese fishermen and merchants have worked the region over time, and China is using archaeological evidence to bolster its claims of sovereignty.
In the 19th and early 20th century, China asserted claims to the Spratly and Paracel islands. During World War II, the islands were claimed by the Japanese. In 1947, China produced a map with 9 undefined dotted lines, and claimed all of the islands within those lines. A 1992 Chinese law restated its claims in the region.
China has occupied some of those islands. In 1976, China enforced its claim upon the Paracel Islands by seizing them from Vietnam. China refers to the Paracel Islands as the Xisha Islands, and includes them as part of its Hainan Island province. Cuarteron Reef Fiery Cross Reef Gaven Reef Hughes Reef Johnson Reef Mischief Reef Subi Reef
Indonesia Not a claimant to any of the Spratly Islands. However, Chinese and Taiwanese claims in the South China Sea extend into Indonesia's EEZ and continental shelf, including Indonesia's Natuna gas field.
Malaysia Claims are based upon the continental shelf principle, and have clearly defined coordinates. Malaysia has occupied three islands that it considers to be within its continental shelf. Malaysia has tried to build up one atoll by bringing soil from the mainland and has built a hotel. Malaysia controls the following islands in the Spratlys: Ardasier Reef (Terumbu Ubi) Mariveles Reef (Terumbu Mantanani) Swallow Reef (Terumbu Layang)
Philippines Its Spratly claims have clearly defined coordinates, based both upon the proximity principle as well as on the explorations of a Philippine explorer in 1956. In 1971, the Philippines officially claimed 8 islands that it refers to as the Kalayaan, partly on the basis of this exploration, arguing that the islands: 1) were not part of the Spratly Islands; and 2) had not belonged to anybody and were open to being claimed. In 1972, they were designated as part of Palawan Province. The Philippines control the following islands in the Spratlys: Kota or Loaita Island Lawak or Nansham Island Likas or West York Island Panata or Lamkian Cay Pag-asa or Thitu Island Parola or North East Cay Patag or Flat Island Rizal or Commodore Reef
Taiwan Taiwan's claims are similar to those of China, and are based upon the same principles. As with China, Taiwan's claims are also not clearly defined. Taiwan controls Itu Aba [Taiping Dao] Island Vietnam Vietnamese claims are based on history and the continental shelf principle. Vietnam claims the entire Spratly Islands as an offshore district of the province of Khanh Hoa. Vietnamese claims also cover an extensive area of the South China Sea, although they are not clearly defined. The Vietnamese have followed the Chinese example of using archaeological evidence to bolster sovereignty claims. In the 1930's, France claimed the Spratly and Paracel Islands on behalf of its then-colony Vietnam.
Vietnam has occupied a number of the Spratly Islands. In addition, Vietnam claims the Paracel Islands, although they were seized by the Chinese in 1974. In the Spratlys, Vietnam controls 21 islands, reefs, shoals, and cays: Alison Reef Amboyan Reef Barque Canada Reef Central London Reef Cornwallis South Reef Da Gri-san Da Hi Gen East London Reef Great Discovery Reef Ladd Reef Landsdowne Reef Namyit Island Pearson Reef Petley Reef Sand Cay Sin Cowe Island South Reef South West Cay Spratly Island Tennent Reef West London Reef
The Philippines are to be declared a major non-NATO ally. With their new status the Philippines are expected to get more military aid. What is interesting is that the United States is training them to defend the Spratlys against China. #msg-2768332
Instead the Philippines and China have signed an agreement to jointly explore for oil and gas in parts of the disputed Spratly islands.
-Am
Friday, September 10, 2004 8:16 AM
HANOI - Vietnam expressed concern on Thursday over an agreement between the Philippines and China to jointly explore for oil and gas in parts of the disputed Spratly islands, and said it had asked them for more details on the pact.
"We are very concerned," Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung told a news briefing, adding that the agreement between the two countries' state oil firms had been reached "without any consultation with other parties concerned."
China, Taiwan and Vietnam claim the whole of the Spratlys -- a cluster of rocks and reefs in the South China Sea believed to be rich in oil, gas, minerals and fish.
Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines claim portions of the islands.
China National Offshore Oil Corp. and the Philippine National Oil Co. signed the exploration agreement last Wednesday during a visit to Beijing by President Arroyo.
Dung reaffirmed Vietnam's "indisputable" claim over the islands, adding: "We have requested that China and the Philippines provide us with the content of this agreement."
Hanoi has tried to underscore its claim to the Spratlys by starting tourism trips to the islands where it maintains military facilities and local government officials. Reuters/abs-cbnNEWS.com
The inclusion of the SEALS aboard the boomers suggests that Bush is implementing his plan for a new war or invasion every 70 days within his world war which is to last for decades.
The SEALS have been called upon for numerous operations including URGENT FURY in Grenada in 1983, EARNEST WILL in the Persian Gulf from 1987 to 1990, OPERATION JUST CAUSE in Panama in 1989, DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM in 1990 and 1991, and OPERATION RESTORE HOPE in Somalia in 1992 and 1993. http://www.grunts.net/navy/seals.html
US military to expand global scope of operations from Japan, South Korea and elsewhere in East Asia to the Middle East and the Indian Ocean in "war against terrorism".
In the Pacific Theatre Southeast Asia will be a crucial component of Bush’s world war. #msg-3542419
Every 70 days Bush wants a new war or invasion within his world war.
This weekly added that the U.S. Department of Defense has set a new objective: to transfer military manpower to far distant regions within ten days, dominate enemy forces within thirty days from that day, and finally, prepare for another battle within 30 days from the end of that domination. Such an operational plan has materialized in a report titled “Research of Operational Possibility,” which was categorized as “Confidential” in 2003, reported Defense News. #msg-3240413
Ships may be turned into undersea command posts By James W. Crawley UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER October 11, 2004
The ballistic-missile submarine Georgia lurks off San Clemente Island. Its missile tubes have been emptied of their nuclear warheads.
A team of Navy SEALs has taken over several compartments and vacant tubes. Contractors and naval engineers have modified other spaces into a battle command center. The Washington state-based Georgia and its 155-member crew are the centerpiece of a Navy experiment called Silent Hammer.
The Navy is studying ways that four former boomers – the nickname for missile subs – can become stealthy, undersea command posts, surveillance centers and launching pads for hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles. "We're pushing the envelope" for submarines, said Cmdr. Dave Duryea, Silent Hammer project manager. The trial began a week ago and ends Thursday. Over the next few years, the Pentagon will convert ballistic-missile subs Georgia, Ohio, Michigan and Florida into nuclear guided-missile submarines, known by the Navy acronym SSGN. Each submarine's 24 Trident intercontinental ballistic missiles will be replaced by up to 154 cruise missiles. The subs were scheduled for the scrap heap to comply with a strategic arms reduction treaty, but Pentagon planners realized the subs could be converted into launching pads for cruise missiles. Several other changes are planned, including the modification of two missile silos and several compartments into special chambers and berthing for commandos and their gear. Also, an air lock and a docking hatch for the SEALs' new minisub, called the Advanced Delivery System, will be installed. Putting Navy SEALs and their minisub aboard the large submarines and newer attack submarines should expand the number and types of missions the commandos can accomplish, said Scott Truver, a naval analyst and group vice president of Anteon Corp. in Washington. Duryea said that's exactly the purpose of trials such as Silent Hammer. "We're continuing to work on developing teamwork between special-operations (forces) and submarines," he said. For Silent Hammer, a prototype battle-management center has been carved out in the Georgia, Duryea said. "It's the first time to have an embarked commander and staff on a sub who can command and control (special-operations) forces," he said. Because of submarines' stealthy nature and cramped quarters, the undersea vessels have never been command posts. The sub has room for up to 60 SEALs and their gear – many times the number that could be carried on smaller attack submarines. Besides Tomahawk missiles, the former ICBM launch tubes, which are 88 inches across and more than 44 feet high, could be loaded with modules containing unmanned aerial or underwater vehicles or other short-range missiles, Duryea said. "There's a lot of things you can put in those tubes," Duryea said. Last week, one of Georgia's missile tubes released a capsule containing a mock-up of an unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle that is under development. Although no drone was launched, two Navy airplanes orbiting nearby are sending live surveillance video to the submerged Georgia for analysis as part of the experiment, Duryea said. The submarine exercise also is linked electronically with another Navy trial, Trident Warrior, which is running simultaneously off the West Coast. Trident Warrior involves San Diego-based amphibious ships Tarawa, Pearl Harbor and Cleveland; the destroyer John Paul Jones; and the cruiser Chosin. The ships are testing new ways to use satellite and computer communications to speed up coordination and attacks by far-flung ships and aircraft. "The technology being tested is essential to conduct battles in the future," said Rear Adm. Robert Conway, who commands Expeditionary Strike Group 1, based on the Tarawa. Experiments such as Silent Hammer can benefit the Navy, analyst Truver said, adding, "It is important, and the results need to be addressed honestly and candidly."
James W. Crawley: (619) 542-4559; jim.crawley@uniontrib.com Ships may be turned into undersea command posts By James W. Crawley UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER October 11, 2004
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