International public opinion continues to speak out against China

(Baonghean) - Tensions in the East Sea have not cooled down as China continues to threaten Vietnamese law enforcement vessels in the area where it illegally placed the Haiyang 981 drilling rig. In this context, international public opinion continues to strongly condemn China's wrongful actions:

The US political community has reacted more strongly to China's illegal deployment of an oil rig in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone. Congressman Jayson Chaphet, one of the most influential politicians in the US Congress, today issued a statement condemning China's actions that increase tensions in the East Sea. The statement clearly stated that China's unilateral deployment of an oil rig off the Hoang Sa archipelago in the East Sea is an act of deep concern. Congressman Chaphet emphasized that the Vietnamese people want to live in peace and prosperity with the respect of neighboring countries, and the US needs to make efforts to demonstrate its role as a responsible leader in the region to ensure a peaceful and prosperous life for the American people as well as the people of the Asia-Pacific region.

Filipinos protest against China

In France, the President of the France-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians Group, former President of the French Senate, Senator Christian Poncelet, in a letter to the Vietnamese Ambassador to France, condemned China's action of placing the Haiyang Shiyou-981 oil rig in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. The Mayor of Choisy-le-Roi City, south of Paris, Didier Guillaume, also wrote a letter expressing solidarity with the Vietnamese people, while affirming that China's placement of the rig affects the security and safety of navigation of the international community in this sea area. Mr. Didier Guillaume also highly appreciated Vietnam's determination to protect national independence and the struggle for peace and cooperation between nations.

Italian lawmakers have also voiced their views on the tensions in the South China Sea. Congressman Enzo Amendola, leader of the Majority of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's ruling Democratic Party in the Italian House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement regarding the tensions in the South China Sea caused by China's illegal unilateral placement of the Haiyang Shiyou-981 oil rig. According to Enzo, any unilateral action would seriously threaten regional security, one of the world's economic development centers. Enzo also said that "Italy and Europe need to express further concern about the current situation in the South China Sea, as the tensions that are occurring "risk seriously damaging the peace and stability of the entire region, and will impact the entire European region."

Although thousands of kilometers away, information and images of China illegally placing the Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig in Vietnam's waters still receive attention from Swiss public opinion. Ms. Anjuska Weil, former member of the Presidium of the Swiss Labor Party, affirmed that China's claims of sovereignty in the East Sea are completely contrary to international law. Ms. Weil also said that the illegal placement of the drilling rig in Vietnam's waters demonstrates China's abuse of power, so the international community needs to speak out more strongly so that China immediately ends its illegal actions and cooperates with all neighboring countries for peace and stability in the East Sea.

Besides the statements of politicians from many countries around the world expressing support for Vietnam, the voices of international research experts also contributed significantly to pointing out China's wrongdoings and emphasizing the necessary efforts to resolve this tense issue.

China will continue to use its power to gradually change the status quo to make it a fait accompli. To counter this, countries need to build mechanisms to make China understand that it will suffer losses if it acts irresponsibly, said Professor Narushige Michishita, Head of the Security and International Affairs Research Group at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Japan. “China’s approach is long-term, gradually expanding its sphere of influence,” Mr. Michishita said. “To counter China’s approach, we need to gradually improve our own defense capabilities, including military capabilities, defense capabilities, police capabilities, maritime law enforcement capabilities, and expand cooperation mechanisms across the region, including security and diplomacy. The key here is that we must build a cooperation mechanism, including security cooperation, so that China will be held accountable for its irresponsible actions.”

According to Mr. David Cam-ru, PhD in Political History at the University of Paris Soc-bon, a leading expert on Southeast Asia in France, China's hegemonic strategy has existed for a long time and this action is aimed at gradually realizing China's intention to monopolize the East Sea. Dr. Cam-ru said: "Despite having ratified the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, China does not comply with international law because they believe that the disputed areas are all within their "cow tongue line". China has always not wanted a ruling from the International Court of Justice on these disputes. China does not want to resolve the issue multilaterally but wants to resolve it with each ASEAN country individually. Therefore, ASEAN needs to unite and closely cooperate with major partners such as the US to ensure stability and peace in the region".

Sharing the same view, Mr. Richar Javad Heydarian, a Philippine expert, whose country is also involved in a dispute in the East Sea with China, commented: “What China has done to Vietnam shows that China only cares about its national interests. China's actions will make Vietnam further strengthen its cooperative relations with the Philippines, the US and Japan. At the same time, in my opinion, China's actions will also make Vietnam consider the possibility of taking legal actions to protect its sovereignty, which will create more pressure on China in the coming time. China's serious violation of international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea through this incident also makes the Philippines and Vietnam determined to push ASEAN to send strong messages to China.”

Mr. Alexay Fenenko - Associate Professor of the Russian Diplomatic Academy, expert of the Institute of International Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences also shared a very remarkable point of view: with every neighbor, China has territorial conflicts. From left to right, we can see China's disputes with India, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam. Obviously, when China has problems with all neighboring countries, Beijing needs to reconsider its policies. The East Sea issue is not too difficult to solve, but the fundamental problem is Beijing's stance that everything belongs to China, the surrounding countries have nothing. If we continue to maintain such a stance, it will of course be very difficult to have a dialogue.

The 2014 World Economic Forum on East Asia will take place in the Philippines from May 21-22, and is expected to be “hot” due to the tense situation in the East Sea. China will not attend this Forum because it has to host the Summer Davos Economic Forum in Tianjin, China. However, international public opinion believes that the real reason for China’s absence is to avoid facing regional and international opposition related to the illegal placement of the Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig in Vietnam’s waters.

Thu Ha(Synthetic)