Newsgroups: soc.culture.vietnamese

Dear friends,

Here are some news I collected from soc.culture.china about Spratly and the
oil deal between China and Crestone. From those,hopefully that we can come up
with some ideas to protect our land from being taken away by China.

Regards,

Pha^?m Phan
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CHINA SAYS SPRATLY OIL DEAL WILL GO AHEAD
    BEIJING, July 19, Reuter - China will ignore Vietnamese
protests and implement a new oil exploration pact near the
disputed Spratly Islands, saying the move will "reclaim" the area
for Beijing, an official magazine said.
    A senior Chinese oil company executive said Beijing knew
Hanoi would respond angrily to its agreement with Crestone
Energy Corp of the United States, but was willing to risk a
dispute to push its territorial claims.
    "It is our territory. And our agreement is legally valid,"
Wang Yan, vice president of the China National Offshore Oil
Corp (CNOOC), was quoted as saying in the Beijing Review.
    Ties between Beijing and Hanoi, normalised only last year
after more than a decade of tension, have come under strain
since CNOOC and Crestone agreed on May 8 to explore for
petroleum in a 25,000-square-km region of the South China Sea
off Vietnam's coast.
    Vietnam, which also claims the area, denounced the pact as
a violation of its sovereign rights over its continental shelf.
    The Beijing Review said China's foreign ministry knew the
project would take place on Vietnam's continental shelf, but
was willing to go ahead anyway.
    It quoted ministry sources as saying China based its claim
to the exploration area, dubbed WAB-21, on historical documents
dating back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) illustrating
Chinese control over the Spratlys.
    "It is a fundamental principle of international law that
territorial rights create related marine rights, but not the
reverse," the magazine said.
    "Hence, Chinese sovereignty over the isles, including the
ones in the WAB-21 area, is unquestionalble even though the
area is situated on the continental shelf of another country,"
    Wang said the oil pact would help to underline Beijing's
control of the Spratlys and adjacent waters -- a huge stretch
of sea stretching as far south as Borneo.
    The islands are also claimed all or in part by Vietnam,
Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. All except Brunei
have troops stationed in the area.
    "The Sino-U.S. contract seems to mean a Chinese reclaim of
the isles. So the Vietnamese responses were all to be expected,"
Wang was quoted as saying.
    China and Vietnam fought a border war in 1979 and clashed
over the Spratlys in 1988 in a sea skirmish.
    Wang said Beijing continued to support suggestions that
various claimants could cooperate in joint-development of the
Spratlys, which are believed to be atop large deposits of oil
and natural gas.
    The foreign ministry has said it is willing to hold
bilateral talks with Vietnam on the issue.
    Wang said oil reserves had not yet been verified in WAB-21,
"but the section has the same petroleum-bearing structure as two
Vietnamese oil fields that have been producing four million
tonnes yearly," the Beijing Review said.

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	MANILA, Philippines (UPI) -- Talks scheduled to begin here Tuesday
among the foreign ministers of six Asian nations underline a host of
growing security concerns raised by the end of the Cold War.
	The decline of East-West military rivalry has eased tension in Europe
and other areas, but has brought new uncertainty to the countries of
Southeast Asia.
	The fading U.S. military presence in the region has triggered anxiety
over a possible power vacuum. Border and trade disputes and increased
competition for natural resources have added to the tension.
	Partly in response to these concerns, several Southeast Asian nations
are rapidly increasing their armed capability.
	Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and Brunei say they
plan substantial increases in military spending over the next five
years. Japan, South Korea, and Burma also are strengthening their
armies, although at a slower pace.
	Julius Caesar Parrenas, a senior analyst at the Manila-based think
tank Center for Research and Communications, forecast the build-up to
expand and said it would become an increasingly crucial issue.
	``If the U.S. continues to ease its presence in Asia and the region
makes no moves toward a collective security arrangement, then we may
have a problem,'' he said. ``I really think some bold moves need to be
made.''
	Although no major announcements are expected from the 25th
ministerial meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which
runs from Tuesday through Sunday, diplomats say the talks provide a
timely forum to discuss the region's evolving security needs.
	Foreign ministers of the six ASEAN nations -- the Philippines,
Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei -- have invited their
counterparts from the United States, Japan, Russia, China, Vietnam and
other nations to participate.
	The meeting is likely to be dominated by discussion of the disputed
Spratly Islands, a group of 1,000-odd islets and sandbars in the South
China Sea about 500 miles west of Manila.
	The Spratlys are believed to sit atop vast oil and gas reserves and
for years have been a source of occasional tension between China,
Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, each of whom
claims all or part of the islands.
	China in February passed a law declaring the Spratlys part of its
territory. It later signed a contract with a U.S. oil company to explore
waters around the islands. The moves rekindled the dispute and raised
larger concerns.
	Several diplomats and analysts see China's action in the Spratlys as
part of a general push to increase its military influence in Asia. This,
they say, could raise tension with Japan, which is cautiously trying to
assume a greater role in the region.
	``The Japanese are very concerned about the moves of China both in
the Spratlys and in general,'' Parrenas said. ``They have not said a lot
but have very quietly expressed their concerns.''
	Some ASEAN diplomats said they were worried their countries could be
drawn into a Japan-China rivalry.
	``You cannot avoid geography,'' Philippine Foreign Secretary Raul
Manglapus told reporters recently. ``China and Japan have a love-hate
relationship...the whole of Southeast Asia is caught in the middle.''
	Besides a perceived power vacuum, regional diplomats say they are
concerned about tensions in Cambodia and Burma and reported North Korean
efforts to develop nuclear weapons.
	``All of these things may amount to nothing,'' an ASEAN diplomat
said. ``But then again they might. That is why it is important to at
least begin seriously talking about some kind of military cooperation.''
	Reaching such a consensus would be difficult.
	Efforts to bolster arsenals have increased distrust between several
Asian countries, Parrenas said, adding that the lack of a clear external
threat provided little incentive for ASEAN to form a collective military
alliance.
	The American security umbrella in the Pacific allowed ASEAN to
concentrate on economic initiatives since it was founded in 1967.
	But last year Manila rejected a proposal to extend the U.S. lease on
Subic Bay Naval Base, Washington's largest military installation in
Asia. U.S. forces are scheduled to leave the base by the end of the
year.
	U.S. officials said they would make no effort to totally replace
Subic, relying instead on a smaller network of military access
agreements with several Southeast Asian countries.
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	MANILA, Philippines (UPI) -- Foreign ministers of six Asian countries
are expected to issue a joint statement warning against the use of
violence to resolve the territorial dispute over the oil-rich Spratly
Islands, officials said Monday.
	A draft joint communique to be released during talks this week by
foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations urges a
``code of international behavior'' be established for disputed areas of
the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands.
	The statement warns violence anywhere in the South China Sea could 
``directly affect the peace and security'' throughout the region.
	The 25th ministerial meeting of ASEAN, which opens Tuesday, is
expected to concentrate on evolving regional security concerns brought
on by the end of the Cold War, including growing territorial disputes.
	Meanwhile, Vietnam reaffirmed its claim to the Spratly Islands and
urged the five other nations claiming ownership of the archipelago not
to take any action that might complicate a settlement of the dispute.
	``Our point of view toward the Spratlys is clear already,''
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam told reporters in Bangkok,
Thailand, after a meeting with Thai Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun. 
``Only Vietnam has a right to decide on exploration and exploitation of
this area.''
	Cam arrived in Bangkok Sunday enroute to Manila for the six-day ASEAN
meeting.Vietnam is attending the conference as a guest.
	``While a settlement of the (Spratlys) dispute is pending, it is
important that no country does anything to complicate it.'' Cam said. 
``Peace and stability will serve the interests of not only one country
but all.''
	Hanoi issued a protest to Beijing earlier this month after Chinese
troops planted a territorial marker on a reef in the islands.
	Vietnam and China fought a brief naval battle over the Spratlys in
1988, which left 77 Vietnamese sailors dead and two of Hanoi's patrol
boats at the bottom of the sea. Chinese casualties, if any, are unknown.
	The draft communique, prepared by senior officials of the ASEAN
countries, calls for nations involved in territorial disputes in the
South China Sea to adopt the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in
Southeast Asia as ``the basis for establishing a code of international
behavior over the area.''
	The 1976 treaty calls on ASEAN countries to settle differences
through peaceful cooperation.
	Asian diplomats said much discussion during the talks would
concentrate on the disputed Spratlys, a group of 1,000-odd islets and
sandbars in the South China Sea about 500 miles west of Manila.
	The Spratlys are believed to sit atop vast oil and gas reserves and
for years have been a source of occasional tension among China, Vietnam,
the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, each of whom claims all or
part of the islands.
	China in February passed a law declaring the Spratlys part of its
territory. It later signed a contract with a U.S. oil company to explore
waters around the islands, in moves rekindling the dispute.
	The eight-page draft refers to the Spratlys several times but never
mentions the disputed island chain by name.
	A final version of the communique is expected to be released
Wednesday at the end of talks between the six ASEAN nations, which
include the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and
Brunei.
	The ASEAN foreign ministers have invited their counterparts from the
United States, Japan, Russia, China, Vietnam and other nations to
participate in further talks, which run through Sunday.
	In the communique, ASEAN ministers also say environmental and human
rights concerns should not be a factor in economic and development
cooperation.
	Moves by several major donors to place environmental or human rights
restrictions on economic aid have raised the ire of developing
countries, who argue such restrictions trespass on their sovereignty.
	They expressed support for the United Nations Transitional Authority
in Cambodia and concern over reports of the Khmer Rouge violating the
peace accord.


Newsgroups: soc.culture.vietnamese