Puerto Princesa—Longtime allies the Philippines and the United States launched naval exercises on Tuesday amid warnings that growing incidents at sea involving China could lead to war in Asia.
Two state-of-the-art US missile destroyers sailed into Philippine waters to kick-start the 11 days of training, being held in the wake of regional tensions caused by territorial rivalries in the West Philippine (South China) Sea.
The exercises, called Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat), will actually take place in the Sulu Sea.
Both the Philippines and United States emphasized the training was an annual one aimed at strengthening defense ties, and not linked to the rising concern in Manila about allegedly aggressive Chinese actions in the potentially resource-rich Spratly Islands.
“Carat was planned in advance… the issue in the South China Sea started in February,” Philippine Navy vice commander Rear Adm. Orwen Corez said at the opening ceremony. “Carat has nothing to do with the issue.”
Nevertheless, the exercises were portrayed as a show of unity between the Philippines and its former colonial ruler.
‘Enduring commitment’
“The US and the Philippines are allies and that is the strongest and most enduring commitment the two nations can make,” the commander of the US 7th Fleet, Vice Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, said.
“Our alliance is underpinned by a deep and abiding US interest in the freedom and security of the Republic of the Philippines.”
Buskirk stressed the exercise “has nothing to do with the Spratlys.”
He said it was the second such exercise held by the two allies “but this situation is more complex.” He did not elaborate.
Tuesday’s opening ceremony took place at a military base in Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan province, a narrow island that divides the West Philippine Sea and the Sulu Sea.
About 800 US sailors are involved, as well as the two guided missile destroyers and a salvage ship. They will join a Philippine fleet of mainly World War II-era ships.
Risk-taking behaviour
As the exercises got underway, an Australian think tank warned risks were growing like incidents at sea involving China that could spark a war in Asia, potentially drawing in the United States and other powers.
The Lowy Institute said in a report that the Chinese military’s risk-taking behavior in the seas, along with the country’s resource needs and greater assertiveness, had raised the chances of an armed conflict.
“The sea lanes of Indo-Pacific Asia are becoming more crowded, contested and vulnerable to armed strife. Naval and air forces are being strengthened amid shifting balances of economic strategic weight,” authors Rory Medcalf and Raoul Heinrichs wrote.
“China’s frictions with the United States, Japan and India are likely to persist and intensify. As the number and tempo of incidents increase, so does the likelihood that an episode will escalate to armed confrontation, diplomatic crisis or possibly even conflict,” the report said.
Aquino call for help
In Washington, the US Senate passed on Monday a resolution that deplored China’s use of force against Vietnamese and Philippine ships.
Sen. Jim Webb, chair of an East Asian and Pacific affairs subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said “a growing number of nations around the South China Sea are now voicing serious concerns about China’s pattern of intimidation.”
President Aquino this month called for US help in containing China’s ambitions, saying his country was too weak to stand up to the Chinese alone.
Mr. Aquino made his plea after accusing China of inciting at least seven recent incidents in the disputed Spratly waters, including one in which a Chinese vessel allegedly opened fire on Filipino fishermen.
He also accused China of breaking international law by entering the Philippines’ 370-kilometer economic exclusion zone.
Clinton pledge
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week offered the Philippines’ some comfort, pledging that the superpower would help to modernize the cash-strapped Philippine military.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims to parts of the West Philippine Sea, which is believed to have vast oil and gas deposits, while its shipping lanes are vital for global trade. Redempto Anda, Inquirer Southern Luzon; AFP and Reuters
Showing posts with label china. Show all posts
Showing posts with label china. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
China reiterates ‘indisputable’ sovereignty over West Philippine Sea
From Inquirer.net
BEIJING—China on Wednesday reiterated that it has “indisputable sovereignty” over islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) after the United States pledged to help the Philippines, which has its own claims in the area.
A spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Yang Yi, also repeated the government position that safeguarding the sovereignty of the area’s potentially resource-rich islets was a “common responsibility” for Beijing and Taipei.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters,” Yang told reporters, according to an official transcript.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, which is believed to have vast oil and gas deposits, while its shipping lanes are vital for global trade.
Vietnam, as well as the Philippines, has in recent months accused China of taking increasingly aggressive actions in staking its claim to the disputed waters and its archipelagos.
In response, China has insisted it wants to resolve the territorial dispute peacefully but remained firm in its claims to most of the West Philippine Sea, even waters within the Philippines’ economic exclusion zone.
The United States and the Philippines on Tuesday launched joint naval exercises in Philippine waters close to the much coveted West Philippine Sea.
The commander of the US 7th Fleet, Vice Admiral Scott Van Buskirk, described America and the Philippines as “allies” and said “that is the strongest and most enduring commitment the two nations can make”.
“Our alliance is underpinned by a deep and abiding US interest in the freedom and security of the Republic of the Philippines,” he added.
BEIJING—China on Wednesday reiterated that it has “indisputable sovereignty” over islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) after the United States pledged to help the Philippines, which has its own claims in the area.
A spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Yang Yi, also repeated the government position that safeguarding the sovereignty of the area’s potentially resource-rich islets was a “common responsibility” for Beijing and Taipei.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters,” Yang told reporters, according to an official transcript.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea, which is believed to have vast oil and gas deposits, while its shipping lanes are vital for global trade.
Vietnam, as well as the Philippines, has in recent months accused China of taking increasingly aggressive actions in staking its claim to the disputed waters and its archipelagos.
In response, China has insisted it wants to resolve the territorial dispute peacefully but remained firm in its claims to most of the West Philippine Sea, even waters within the Philippines’ economic exclusion zone.
The United States and the Philippines on Tuesday launched joint naval exercises in Philippine waters close to the much coveted West Philippine Sea.
The commander of the US 7th Fleet, Vice Admiral Scott Van Buskirk, described America and the Philippines as “allies” and said “that is the strongest and most enduring commitment the two nations can make”.
“Our alliance is underpinned by a deep and abiding US interest in the freedom and security of the Republic of the Philippines,” he added.
Monday, June 27, 2011
US asks China for lower tension at sea
HONOLULU – The United States on Saturday called for China to lower tensions in the South China Sea through dialogue as the Pacific powers held first-of-a-kind talks amid friction in Southeast Asia.
Senior US official Kurt Campbell said he told China during the talks in Hawaii that the United States welcomed a strong role for Beijing, which has warned Washington against involvement in the intensifying disputes.
“We had a candid and clear discussion about these issues,” Campbell, the assistant secretary of state of East Asian and Pacific affairs, told reporters after the session in Honolulu.
“We want tensions to subside. We have a strong interest in the maintenance in peace and stability, and we are seeking a dialogue among all of the key players,” he said.
Incidents in recent weeks have heightened tension on the South China Sea, a strategic and potentially oil-rich area where China has sometimes overlapping disputes with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Vietnam carried out live-fire drills and the Philippines ordered the deployment of its naval flagship after accusing China of aggressive actions.
While the United States and China often talk, Saturday’s session was the first to focus specifically on the Asia-Pacific region. The dialogue was set up during the top-level Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington in May.
Senior US official Kurt Campbell said he told China during the talks in Hawaii that the United States welcomed a strong role for Beijing, which has warned Washington against involvement in the intensifying disputes.
“We had a candid and clear discussion about these issues,” Campbell, the assistant secretary of state of East Asian and Pacific affairs, told reporters after the session in Honolulu.
“We want tensions to subside. We have a strong interest in the maintenance in peace and stability, and we are seeking a dialogue among all of the key players,” he said.
Incidents in recent weeks have heightened tension on the South China Sea, a strategic and potentially oil-rich area where China has sometimes overlapping disputes with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Vietnam carried out live-fire drills and the Philippines ordered the deployment of its naval flagship after accusing China of aggressive actions.
While the United States and China often talk, Saturday’s session was the first to focus specifically on the Asia-Pacific region. The dialogue was set up during the top-level Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington in May.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Aquino firm on China dispute
MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino vowed Wednesday that the Philippines would press its territorial claims in the South China Sea, despite the vast military superiority of its rival China.
Aquino also called on Beijing to follow international rules in seeking to resolve rival claims to the strategically important territory that includes the Spratly island chain, believed to sit on vast mineral resources.
“We are just protecting our rights because if you don’t exercise your rights, then you will be abandoning them,” Aquino told reporters.
“If we leave (the South China Sea), then they will just own it,” he said.
Aquino said the overlapping claims, which also include those from Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, should be settled multilaterally under international accords such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“We expect China to adhere to that… We believe the basis for our claim is well-founded, especially under this treaty ratified by so many countries including China,” Aquino added.
Aquino said that settlement under UNCLOS was in the interests of the other South East Asian claimants, the United States, the United Nations and all parties who use the sea lanes.
The Philippines interprets the convention as saying a country has exclusive economic rights over waters within 200 nautical miles of its continental shelf.
The country has recently become more active in defending its claim in the South China Sea despite its lack of military resources to enforce it.
Earlier this month the Philippine Navy dispatched its flagship, an ageing World War II vessel, to patrol the South China Sea after China said it was sending a maritime patrol vessel through the area.
Manila has also accused China of being behind several provocative incidents in the Spratlys in recent months.
Singapore on Monday joined the debate, urging China to be more open about the extent of its territorial claims and saying Beijing’s lack of openness was causing international concern.
The Philippine military, meanwhile, said it would soon start repair of its airstrip in Thitu island in the Spratlys, which the country occupies.
“The order of our commander in chief is to do it as soon as possible,” said Lieutenant General Juancho Sabban, commander of military forces in the western Philippines.
Aquino also called on Beijing to follow international rules in seeking to resolve rival claims to the strategically important territory that includes the Spratly island chain, believed to sit on vast mineral resources.
“We are just protecting our rights because if you don’t exercise your rights, then you will be abandoning them,” Aquino told reporters.
“If we leave (the South China Sea), then they will just own it,” he said.
Aquino said the overlapping claims, which also include those from Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, should be settled multilaterally under international accords such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“We expect China to adhere to that… We believe the basis for our claim is well-founded, especially under this treaty ratified by so many countries including China,” Aquino added.
Aquino said that settlement under UNCLOS was in the interests of the other South East Asian claimants, the United States, the United Nations and all parties who use the sea lanes.
The Philippines interprets the convention as saying a country has exclusive economic rights over waters within 200 nautical miles of its continental shelf.
The country has recently become more active in defending its claim in the South China Sea despite its lack of military resources to enforce it.
Earlier this month the Philippine Navy dispatched its flagship, an ageing World War II vessel, to patrol the South China Sea after China said it was sending a maritime patrol vessel through the area.
Manila has also accused China of being behind several provocative incidents in the Spratlys in recent months.
Singapore on Monday joined the debate, urging China to be more open about the extent of its territorial claims and saying Beijing’s lack of openness was causing international concern.
The Philippine military, meanwhile, said it would soon start repair of its airstrip in Thitu island in the Spratlys, which the country occupies.
“The order of our commander in chief is to do it as soon as possible,” said Lieutenant General Juancho Sabban, commander of military forces in the western Philippines.
Danger at sea
China’s surprisingly aggressive assertion of “indisputable sovereignty” over the South China Sea has startled governments around the region, and puts the emerging superpower on a collision course with its partners in the region as well as the interests of the other, long-established superpower, the United States.
Misconceptions about the issue clutter the public discourse in the Philippines, however, and threaten to harden into conclusions. We owe it to ourselves – and senators and congressmen owe it to their constituents – to clarify the discussion, rather than confuse it.
In the first place, the increased chances of a confrontation with China over the Kalayaan Islands, that chain of islets to the west of Palawan that the Philippines claims, was not the saber-rattling idea of a President with declining satisfaction ratings. Media personalities identified with the Arroyo administration have advanced the suggestion that the entire issue is a wag-the-dog scenario. That kind of thinking reveals politics at its most parochial. If anything, Malacañang has been playing catch-up. China has been increasingly assertive in defending its claim to the area since last year; earlier this year, for example, China cut off the cables of two Vietnamese exploration vessels, one a mere 120 nautical miles off Vietnam’s coast.
Secondly, and contrary to the worldview of some politicians, the dispute does not involve the Philippines alone. Vietnam, in fact, has borne the brunt of renewed Chinese assertiveness, which helps explain why it conducted live-fire exercises off its coast last week. Japan has complained to China about Chinese naval war drills conducted near Okinawa and other islands the Japanese claim. Even Singapore, the lone regional player which is not a claimant, broke its diplomatic silence last week. As it prepared to receive China’s biggest “civilian maritime patrol ship,” it asked Beijing to clarify its territorial claims. “We have repeatedly said that we think it is in China’s own interests to clarify its claims in the South China Sea with more precision as the current ambiguity as to their extent has caused serious concerns in the international maritime community,” the Singapore foreign ministry said.
Third, and most crucial, the flexing of Chinese muscle is not about the Spratlys. It is not about the Paracel Islands, or any other territory included in the so-called nine-dotted line. It is, in fact, about the entire South China Sea which China calls, simply, the South Sea. Last July, in response to the forceful declaration by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that it was in the American national interest that “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea be maintained, the People’s Liberation Army issued an equally categorical statement. “China has indisputable sovereignty of the South Sea, and China has sufficient historical and legal backing” to support its claim, the military spokesman said. He added a proviso: “We will, in accordance with the demands of international law, respect the freedom of the passage of ships or aircraft from relevant countries.” The seemingly unilateral language of the American declaration should not confuse us; it is in the entire region’s best interest if freedom of navigation in the South China Sea remains a right, not a favor granted by Beijing.
Fourth, and most particular to our policymakers, the country may be weak economically and puny militarily, but in the looming confrontation with China it does have two advantages: It has international law on its side; and it can expect the support of the international community. China’s recent harassing of a Philippine exploration vessel happened off Recto Bank, only 80 nautical miles from Palawan but almost 500 from mainland China. Under either the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or the 2002 Code of Conduct, Beijing will have a hard time explaining this aggressive behavior.
Columnist Raul Pangalangan asked the right geopolitical question: What has happened to China’s policy of “peaceful rise”? Its increasingly bellicose posture cannot be disguised by the charm offensive of seasoned diplomats; it is plain for all to see. But China’s undisputed rise as a global economic power means it cannot disregard international treaties indefinitely. That means the Philippines, while standing up as best it can to the bully in the regional schoolyard, must make its case on law and diplomacy.
Misconceptions about the issue clutter the public discourse in the Philippines, however, and threaten to harden into conclusions. We owe it to ourselves – and senators and congressmen owe it to their constituents – to clarify the discussion, rather than confuse it.
In the first place, the increased chances of a confrontation with China over the Kalayaan Islands, that chain of islets to the west of Palawan that the Philippines claims, was not the saber-rattling idea of a President with declining satisfaction ratings. Media personalities identified with the Arroyo administration have advanced the suggestion that the entire issue is a wag-the-dog scenario. That kind of thinking reveals politics at its most parochial. If anything, Malacañang has been playing catch-up. China has been increasingly assertive in defending its claim to the area since last year; earlier this year, for example, China cut off the cables of two Vietnamese exploration vessels, one a mere 120 nautical miles off Vietnam’s coast.
Secondly, and contrary to the worldview of some politicians, the dispute does not involve the Philippines alone. Vietnam, in fact, has borne the brunt of renewed Chinese assertiveness, which helps explain why it conducted live-fire exercises off its coast last week. Japan has complained to China about Chinese naval war drills conducted near Okinawa and other islands the Japanese claim. Even Singapore, the lone regional player which is not a claimant, broke its diplomatic silence last week. As it prepared to receive China’s biggest “civilian maritime patrol ship,” it asked Beijing to clarify its territorial claims. “We have repeatedly said that we think it is in China’s own interests to clarify its claims in the South China Sea with more precision as the current ambiguity as to their extent has caused serious concerns in the international maritime community,” the Singapore foreign ministry said.
Third, and most crucial, the flexing of Chinese muscle is not about the Spratlys. It is not about the Paracel Islands, or any other territory included in the so-called nine-dotted line. It is, in fact, about the entire South China Sea which China calls, simply, the South Sea. Last July, in response to the forceful declaration by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that it was in the American national interest that “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea be maintained, the People’s Liberation Army issued an equally categorical statement. “China has indisputable sovereignty of the South Sea, and China has sufficient historical and legal backing” to support its claim, the military spokesman said. He added a proviso: “We will, in accordance with the demands of international law, respect the freedom of the passage of ships or aircraft from relevant countries.” The seemingly unilateral language of the American declaration should not confuse us; it is in the entire region’s best interest if freedom of navigation in the South China Sea remains a right, not a favor granted by Beijing.
Fourth, and most particular to our policymakers, the country may be weak economically and puny militarily, but in the looming confrontation with China it does have two advantages: It has international law on its side; and it can expect the support of the international community. China’s recent harassing of a Philippine exploration vessel happened off Recto Bank, only 80 nautical miles from Palawan but almost 500 from mainland China. Under either the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or the 2002 Code of Conduct, Beijing will have a hard time explaining this aggressive behavior.
Columnist Raul Pangalangan asked the right geopolitical question: What has happened to China’s policy of “peaceful rise”? Its increasingly bellicose posture cannot be disguised by the charm offensive of seasoned diplomats; it is plain for all to see. But China’s undisputed rise as a global economic power means it cannot disregard international treaties indefinitely. That means the Philippines, while standing up as best it can to the bully in the regional schoolyard, must make its case on law and diplomacy.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Spratly Islands Bone of Contention Among Philippines, China, Vietnam
With the attention of the Obama administration fixed on the Middle East, yet another international crisis is threatening to disturb the peace of the world, this time around the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The Spratly Islands are the focus of a territorial dispute between the Philippines, China, and Vietnam, among other countries. At hazard are vast deposits of oil and gas as well as a lush commercial fishing zone.
While the Philippines is dedicated to the peaceful resolution of the dispute, which goes back decades, the country is also committed to building up naval strength to increase its capacity to defend its territorial claims if necessary. It has also called upon the United States to help it defend its claims.
A naval conflict in the South China Sea, which the Philippines refer to as the West Philippine Sea and Vietnam called the East Sea, would not be in the interests of anyone. While China has been aggressive in asserting what it considers its national interests, it is not yet capable of asserting sovereignty over the Spratly Islands should it be opposed by the US 7th Fleet. Embroiled in a multi front war in the Middle East and Central Asia, the United States is not interested in participating in a fight in the Far East, especially with another nuclear power.
The smaller countries with claims over the Spratly Islands, such as Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as Taiwan and Malaya, would be caught in the middle of a super power clash should it occur.
What the basis of a diplomatic settlement of the Spratly dispute is not clear. Ceding the islands to one country or another would leave all the other claimants aggrieved and motivated possibly to assert their own claims by force. That would mean that some kind of permanent presence, likely American led, would have to be stationed in the Spratly Islands to keep the peace.
Alternatively, some kind of joint sovereignty arrangement could be worked out in which all or most of the claimant countries would be partners in the development of the Spratly Island resources and sharing the profits. That would have the virtue of not leaving any party to the dispute unsatisfied, tamping down on the possibility of military conflict, while at the same time binding the parties together to cooperate rather than fight to enjoy the fish and hydrocarbon resources of the Spratly Islands.
While the Philippines is dedicated to the peaceful resolution of the dispute, which goes back decades, the country is also committed to building up naval strength to increase its capacity to defend its territorial claims if necessary. It has also called upon the United States to help it defend its claims.
A naval conflict in the South China Sea, which the Philippines refer to as the West Philippine Sea and Vietnam called the East Sea, would not be in the interests of anyone. While China has been aggressive in asserting what it considers its national interests, it is not yet capable of asserting sovereignty over the Spratly Islands should it be opposed by the US 7th Fleet. Embroiled in a multi front war in the Middle East and Central Asia, the United States is not interested in participating in a fight in the Far East, especially with another nuclear power.
The smaller countries with claims over the Spratly Islands, such as Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as Taiwan and Malaya, would be caught in the middle of a super power clash should it occur.
What the basis of a diplomatic settlement of the Spratly dispute is not clear. Ceding the islands to one country or another would leave all the other claimants aggrieved and motivated possibly to assert their own claims by force. That would mean that some kind of permanent presence, likely American led, would have to be stationed in the Spratly Islands to keep the peace.
Alternatively, some kind of joint sovereignty arrangement could be worked out in which all or most of the claimant countries would be partners in the development of the Spratly Island resources and sharing the profits. That would have the virtue of not leaving any party to the dispute unsatisfied, tamping down on the possibility of military conflict, while at the same time binding the parties together to cooperate rather than fight to enjoy the fish and hydrocarbon resources of the Spratly Islands.
Vietnam and China hackers escalate Spratly Islands row
Computer hackers from Vietnam and China have attacked websites including portals run by each other's governments, amid a sea-border row.
The hackers replaced content on the sites with abuse and national symbols.
Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said his country's claims to territory in the South China Sea were incontestable.
Chinese officials later warned other Asian nations to halt exploration for minerals in the area.
Both sides claim ownership of islands in the South China Sea.
The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have rival claims in the area.
'Strong determination'
On the weekend, hundreds of Vietnamese protested against Chinese naval operations in disputed waters.
Relations between Vietnam and China have long been awkward, but public protests are extremely rare.
The demonstrations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City followed a confrontation between a Vietnamese ship and Chinese patrol boats last month.
Hanoi accused a Chinese patrol of cutting the cables of a Vietnamese ship conducting seismic research about 120km (80 miles) off Vietnam's coast.
At the time of the incident, China said that Vietnamese vessels had been operating "illegally", adding that the country should "refrain from creating trouble".
On Thursday, Prime Minister Dung made his first comments on the row, saying Vietnam's sovereignty was incontestable in areas of the Paracel and Spratly island groups.
"We continue to affirm strongly and to manifest the strongest determination of all the party, of all the people and of all the army in protecting Vietnamese sovereignty in maritime zones and islands of the country," Mr Dung said in comments reported by the Thanh Nien newspaper.
Later, Vietnamese officials accused a Chinese fishing boat of once again intentionally ramming cables from an oil exploration vessel inside its exclusive economic zone.
And separately, China's ambassador to the Philippines, Liu Jianchao, warned other countries to stop prospecting for oil in the area.
The disputed islands are largely uninhabited, but the area includes important shipping routes and may contain oil and gas deposits.
The hackers replaced content on the sites with abuse and national symbols.
Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said his country's claims to territory in the South China Sea were incontestable.
Chinese officials later warned other Asian nations to halt exploration for minerals in the area.
Both sides claim ownership of islands in the South China Sea.
The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have rival claims in the area.
'Strong determination'
On the weekend, hundreds of Vietnamese protested against Chinese naval operations in disputed waters.
Relations between Vietnam and China have long been awkward, but public protests are extremely rare.
The demonstrations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City followed a confrontation between a Vietnamese ship and Chinese patrol boats last month.
Hanoi accused a Chinese patrol of cutting the cables of a Vietnamese ship conducting seismic research about 120km (80 miles) off Vietnam's coast.
At the time of the incident, China said that Vietnamese vessels had been operating "illegally", adding that the country should "refrain from creating trouble".
On Thursday, Prime Minister Dung made his first comments on the row, saying Vietnam's sovereignty was incontestable in areas of the Paracel and Spratly island groups.
"We continue to affirm strongly and to manifest the strongest determination of all the party, of all the people and of all the army in protecting Vietnamese sovereignty in maritime zones and islands of the country," Mr Dung said in comments reported by the Thanh Nien newspaper.
Later, Vietnamese officials accused a Chinese fishing boat of once again intentionally ramming cables from an oil exploration vessel inside its exclusive economic zone.
And separately, China's ambassador to the Philippines, Liu Jianchao, warned other countries to stop prospecting for oil in the area.
The disputed islands are largely uninhabited, but the area includes important shipping routes and may contain oil and gas deposits.
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