Vietnam’s efforts to rope in others will fail, says China

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http://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/vietnams-efforts-rope-others-will-fail-says-china

China yesterday continued its sabre-rattling with Vietnam and the Philippines over maritime disputes in the South China Sea.

This is one day after an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders’ meeting called on all parties involved to exercise self-restraint but stopped short of mentioning China.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said yesterday that Vietnam’s efforts to garner support at ASEAN would fail.

She also described as illegal the Philippines’ move yesterday to charge nine crew members of a Chinese fishing boat with allegedly hunting sea turtles in disputed waters in the South China Sea.

Tensions rose after China positioned a giant oil rig on May 1 in an area also claimed by Vietnam. Each country accused the other of ramming its ships near the disputed Paracel Islands.

Speaking to fellow ASEAN leaders at Sunday’s summit held in Myanmar, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said Vietnam had acted with “utmost restraint” and used all means of dialogue to request China remove the rig. He added that China was slandering his country and committing dangerous violations.

But at a daily news conference in Beijing yesterday, Ms Hua said Vietnam “will not achieve its aims” of “trying to rope in other parties and put pressure on China”.

“We hope that Vietnam can see the situation clearly, calmly face up to reality and stop harassing the Chinese operations,” she said.

Ms Hua also continued China’s criticism of the actions of the Philippines in the seizure of a Chinese fishing boat and its crew off Half Moon Shoal in the Spratly Islands last week.

Yesterday, Philippine prosecutors charged nine of its 11 crew with poaching more than 500 endangered sea turtles and set bail at 70,000 pesos (S$2,000) for each of them, despite demands from Chinese diplomats who went to see the fishermen that they should be freed. Prosecutor Allen Ross Rodriguez said the two others arrested were minors and would be sent home.

Ms Hua called the Philippines’ actions illegal, saying the boat and its crew were seized in Chinese waters.