General Cuong "exposes" China's oil and gas plots and scenarios
Major General Le Van Cuong - former Director of the Institute of Strategy - Ministry of Public Security
How did China say one thing and do another?
Speaking about China’s recent actions, Major General Le Van Cuong said: “First of all, it must be said that China’s actions are all carefully and meticulously calculated. They choose the space, location, and time to do this. This is not a spontaneous act, but it is part of a series of actions to demonstrate China’s policy of “monopolizing the East Sea”. I think this is under the direction of the state, not simply something an oil and gas company can dare to do.
Second, China's actions have violated the 1982 International Convention on the Law of the Sea, which both Vietnam and China have signed. The nine lots that China invited to bid for are located entirely within Vietnam's 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
Map of China's location inviting bids for oil and gas exploitation in Vietnam's waters -
Graphics: N.Khanh (source: Tuoi Tre Newspaper)
To prove this point, Mr. Cuong said: “Specifically, most recently in October 2010, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao sent a telegram to his ASEAN counterparts, clearly stating that China wanted to build trust with relevant parties to build the East Sea into a region of peace, stability, cooperation and development.
In January 2011, in Washington, in the 41-point US-China joint statement signed between President Obama and President Hu Jintao, both sides pledged to cooperate to ensure that the Asia-Pacific region in general and East Asia in particular is a region of stability, peace, cooperation, and development; under such conditions, every country benefits.
By mid-2011, in the joint statement with Vietnam during the visit of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, it was clearly stated: While the two sides have not yet resolved the issue, the two sides have taken small steps to prepare for a long-term solution in a fundamental way, without further complicating the general situation.
The above actions of China all prove that Chinese leaders say one thing and do another. All of China’s aggressive actions not only towards Vietnam but also towards the US, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines… in recent years show the world that China does not want peaceful development at sea.
Chinese leaders and Chinese scholars have used bilateral forums to promote
China's peaceful rise (hereafter called peaceful development) and rapid, strong development only benefit countries, do not harm anyone, and you should do business with China; China develops strongly but does not violate the sovereignty of any country. However, the actions in the past 2 years go against the policy that people have promoted. Once again, it proves that world public opinion cannot trust Chinese leaders because they say one thing and do another.
"Exposing" China's tricks
According to Mr. Cuong, China's actions in calling for and inviting bids for 9 lots under Vietnam's sovereignty show arrogance and disregard for morality. "Companies and corporations that do business honestly will not participate in this invitation to bid because the world knows China. China has already taken off its mask. China's trick is to turn non-disputed areas into disputed areas. Specifically, Vietnam's 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone belongs to Vietnam's sovereignty, but China goes around telling the world that the area belongs to them. That is a fallacy of China.
However, a possible situation is that some companies under the name of foreign countries but in reality have very close relations and are dependent on China (such as CNOOC) will take the contract. And if no company takes the contract, China will most likely bring in a giant drilling rig to exploit oil in the area under our sovereignty," said Mr. Cuong.
Where is China's weakness?
Faced with a rising China, Mr. Cuong analyzed: “Does China have weaknesses? The answer here is yes. China has developed so strongly, but China needs relations with the world. Furthermore, China’s development is only in breadth, while in depth, China is still decades behind the US and Japan.
China's economy depends on the world. China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and Chinese leaders have said hundreds of times that it must maintain the inevitable trend of the times. But China's actions go against the general trend of the world and are opposed by the international community. In the current era, countries rely on each other, and China's economic interests are intertwined with those of other countries.
Mr. Cuong said: “Where are our strengths? Our strengths lie in being protected by international law. Second, the international community is on our side. This factor depends on how we demonstrate it. We must show a resolute and steadfast stance, then the world will strongly support us.
That is the combination of national strength with the strength of the times. To do so, the country itself must be strong, and to make the country strong, first of all, the state apparatus must be strong: Closely connected to the people, truly a state of the people, by the people and for the people. When the people have confidence in the Party and the state, it will create the strength of the country.
The 4th Central Resolution has clearly stated that at this time, each Party member must be exemplary, especially at the highest level. Successful implementation of the 4th Central Resolution will help the Party become strong, the State become strong. And from there, it will create strength within the people. Only then will we be able to absorb the strength of the times.
One thing I want to say is that although it is too late now, we still need to do it immediately, which is to include the Hoang Sa, Truong Sa and the East Sea issues in history and geography textbooks for young people at all levels and in university and college curricula for students. While China has absolutely no sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, they teach their students that those archipelagos belong to China. That is a distortion of history that deceives the Chinese people.
We have the cultural, historical and legal basis to prove that Hoang Sa and Truong Sa belong to Vietnam, but it is not widely publicized for all people to know. We must immediately include it in textbooks in the next semester. Furthermore, the mass media has a great power in this propaganda. However, I have the feeling that we have not yet fully exploited this power. Investing in weapons is still limited, but investing in the press will create a terrible power.
To be fair, China is not against Vietnam.
According to GDVN-M
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