Vietnam put on a show of military strength in the tense South China Sea yesterday, risking the ire of Beijing in the face of a deepening maritime rift with its powerful neighbor.
Relations between the communist nations have sunk to their lowest point in years following recent sea confrontations which re-ignited a long-standing dispute over sovereignty of two potentially oil-rich archipelagos.
A first barrage of naval artillery, lasting about four hours, took place about 40km off Quang Nam Province in central Vietnam, said a naval officer in Danang City who asked not to be named.
He declined to reveal how many ships had been mobilized, but said no missiles were fired. A similar night drill would start at 7pm and last about five hours, the officer added.
Although Vietnam’s foreign ministry described it as routine annual training, analysts said the drill had raised temperatures in the South China Sea, where Asian nations have conflicting claims over potentially energy-rich waters.
The exercise “is designed to send China a message that Vietnam refuses to be pushed around,” said Ian Storey, a regional security analyst with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
The drills are inside the area Vietnam claims as its 200 nautical mile (370km) economic zone.
Hanoi last month accused Chinese surveillance vessels of cutting the exploration cables of an oil survey ship inside the same area and on Thursday Vietnam alleged a similar incident in the zone, saying a Chinese fishing boat rammed the cables of another oil survey ship in a “premeditated” attack.
Beijing countered by warning Vietnam to halt all activities that it says violate China’s sovereignty in the disputed area.
“No one wants a war, but the possibility of some shots being fired in anger or of some ships running into other ships has increased,” said Ralph Cossa, president of the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum CSIS, a research institute.
Despite that possibility, Cossa said all sides will work to ensure that any escalation does “not get out of control.”
The US said it is “troubled” by tensions triggered by the maritime dispute.
The naval drill is about 250km from the Paracel Islands (西沙群島) and almost 1,000km from the Spratlys (南沙群島), the archipelagos which are claimed by both nations and which straddle strategic shipping lanes.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.