Friday, 10 June 2011Vietnam announced Friday that it would hold a live-fire naval drill next week in the South China Sea as an escalating maritime dispute fuels tensions with Beijing.
Relations between China and Vietnam are at their worst in years as the two countries trade accusations over recent confrontations between their ships in potentially energy-rich contested waters.
A Vietnamese naval officer told AFP that the six hours of live-fire exercises would be held on Monday around Hon Ong island, about 40 kilometers off Quang Nam province in central Vietnam.
The officer declined to give the reason for the night drill or say how many vessels would be involved. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said the exercises were part of routine annual training.
Tensions between the neighbors have risen sharply after Hanoi accused Chinese marine surveillance vessels of cutting the exploration cables of an oil survey ship in May inside its exclusive economic zone, where the drill will be.
On Thursday Vietnam alleged a similar incident in the zone, saying a Chinese fishing boat rammed the cables of another oil survey ship in its waters, describing it as a "premeditated" attack. Beijing countered by warning Vietnam to halt all activities that it says violate its sovereignty in disputed South China Sea waters.
The two countries have long-standing disputes over the potentially oil-rich Paracel and Spratly archipelagos and surrounding sea. The area where the live-fire exercise is planned is about 250 kilometers from the Paracels and almost 1,000 kilometers from the Spratlys.
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Friday, 10 June 2011
Hurriyet Daily News
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