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At an international press briefing in Washington DC on May 8, deputy spokesperson of the US Department of State Marie Harf called on China to stop its provocative, escalating act in the East Sea – a dangerous step that can threaten peace and stability in the region.
She voiced the US’s concern about escalation in the region, saying any sovereign claims should be settled peacefully and any effort to change the status quo running counter to international law threatens regional peace and stability.
Harf said the US would continue to ask China to settle sovereign disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, and put an end to similar provocative acts.
Congressman Eni Faleomavaega of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, on May 8 also strongly criticized China for violating Vietnam’s sovereignty and called upon the US to issue a clear and decisive statement of response.
In a press release, Eni Faleomavaega noted China’s drilling rig HD-981 is anchored within Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf, about 120 nautical miles from Ly Son island of Vietnam.
He thanked US Senator John McCain for his leadership in unequivocally stating that China’s territorial claims to these waters have no basis in international law.
Eni Faleomavaega asserted that “China’s provocative actions are an escalation of its intent to threaten peace and maritime security in the East Sea“.
He recalled that since 2009, China has escalated its claims of the ‘nine-dash line’, cut ship cables, established Sansha City, enforced its Fishery Law, enhanced oil explorations in disputed areas, attacked Vietnamese fishing vessels, launched patrol boats, and conducted military exercises in the East Sea to flex its power and deter other claimants.
The congressman called on Chinese leaders to take immediate steps to deescalate tensions, and the US to lead the way.
U.S. Helps Vietnam Defend Fishermen Who 'Get into Trouble' With China
Days after sparks flew with China, U.S. Coast Guard official reveals 'uncanny' meeting.
U.S. Coast Guard still protects Vietnamese fishermen from Chinese ships such as this one leaving the Xingang Port of Haikou on March 26.
By Paul D. Shinkman April 9, 2013 SHARE
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. --- The U.S. Coast Guard actively helps Vietnam protect its fishing vessels at a time when the Chinese are testing the boundaries of their Pacific neighborhood, a top official says.
Many of the officers involved in this effort remember firsthand the late 1960s and early 1970s when the U.S. and Vietnam were at war, says Coast Guard Rear Adm. William Lee. Now the two governments are cooperating to develop a fighting force that can help Vietnamese fisherman and others when they "get into trouble."
While speaking at the annual Sea-Air-Space expo here, Lee described a meeting he conducted with Vietnamese counterparts the week after one of its vessels reportedly caught fire after Chinese sailors fired a flare at it.
"They have thousands of fishermen who set to sea every day without the benefit of a U.S. Coast Guard-like entity who can go out when those guys get into trouble," said Lee, the deputy for Operations Policy and Capabilities. "There is a growing demand for Coast Guard-like authorities and capabilities and training efforts. The problem is there is far more demand than there is supply to meet the demand at the present moment."
Lee says he sat down to lunch in March with a senior Vietnamese Naval officer and an Army colonel roughly his same age who slept in a bunker outside Hanoi before entering service in 1972.
"We both found it kind of uncanny that here we are all these years later. He, still on active duty after all those years, talking to the U.S. government about building capacity in their country," he said. "That story is remarkable."
News broke on March that Chinese officials had engaged a Vietnamese fishing boat in disputed waters in the South China Sea. The Chinese boat allegedly fired a warning flare, which the Vietnamese claims set its fishing boat on fire.
Lee's interaction with the Vietnamese officers was "one small vignette of many of the things happening over there in Southeast Asia," he said. The U.S. Coast Guard has also met with Chinese counterparts in Honolulu for talks in recent weeks, he added.
The Chinese have themselves embarked on efforts to improve their coast guard. Until March, it had five separate entities that performed the same efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard. Now they have combined four of those together, Lee said.
"They took a lesson looking across the spectrum there and saw how we do business," he said.
She voiced the US’s concern about escalation in the region, saying any sovereign claims should be settled peacefully and any effort to change the status quo running counter to international law threatens regional peace and stability.
Harf said the US would continue to ask China to settle sovereign disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, and put an end to similar provocative acts.
Congressman Eni Faleomavaega of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, on May 8 also strongly criticized China for violating Vietnam’s sovereignty and called upon the US to issue a clear and decisive statement of response.
In a press release, Eni Faleomavaega noted China’s drilling rig HD-981 is anchored within Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf, about 120 nautical miles from Ly Son island of Vietnam.
He thanked US Senator John McCain for his leadership in unequivocally stating that China’s territorial claims to these waters have no basis in international law.
Eni Faleomavaega asserted that “China’s provocative actions are an escalation of its intent to threaten peace and maritime security in the East Sea“.
He recalled that since 2009, China has escalated its claims of the ‘nine-dash line’, cut ship cables, established Sansha City, enforced its Fishery Law, enhanced oil explorations in disputed areas, attacked Vietnamese fishing vessels, launched patrol boats, and conducted military exercises in the East Sea to flex its power and deter other claimants.
The congressman called on Chinese leaders to take immediate steps to deescalate tensions, and the US to lead the way.
U.S. Helps Vietnam Defend Fishermen Who 'Get into Trouble' With China
Days after sparks flew with China, U.S. Coast Guard official reveals 'uncanny' meeting.
U.S. Coast Guard still protects Vietnamese fishermen from Chinese ships such as this one leaving the Xingang Port of Haikou on March 26.
By Paul D. Shinkman April 9, 2013 SHARE
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. --- The U.S. Coast Guard actively helps Vietnam protect its fishing vessels at a time when the Chinese are testing the boundaries of their Pacific neighborhood, a top official says.
Many of the officers involved in this effort remember firsthand the late 1960s and early 1970s when the U.S. and Vietnam were at war, says Coast Guard Rear Adm. William Lee. Now the two governments are cooperating to develop a fighting force that can help Vietnamese fisherman and others when they "get into trouble."
While speaking at the annual Sea-Air-Space expo here, Lee described a meeting he conducted with Vietnamese counterparts the week after one of its vessels reportedly caught fire after Chinese sailors fired a flare at it.
"They have thousands of fishermen who set to sea every day without the benefit of a U.S. Coast Guard-like entity who can go out when those guys get into trouble," said Lee, the deputy for Operations Policy and Capabilities. "There is a growing demand for Coast Guard-like authorities and capabilities and training efforts. The problem is there is far more demand than there is supply to meet the demand at the present moment."
Lee says he sat down to lunch in March with a senior Vietnamese Naval officer and an Army colonel roughly his same age who slept in a bunker outside Hanoi before entering service in 1972.
"We both found it kind of uncanny that here we are all these years later. He, still on active duty after all those years, talking to the U.S. government about building capacity in their country," he said. "That story is remarkable."
News broke on March that Chinese officials had engaged a Vietnamese fishing boat in disputed waters in the South China Sea. The Chinese boat allegedly fired a warning flare, which the Vietnamese claims set its fishing boat on fire.
Lee's interaction with the Vietnamese officers was "one small vignette of many of the things happening over there in Southeast Asia," he said. The U.S. Coast Guard has also met with Chinese counterparts in Honolulu for talks in recent weeks, he added.
The Chinese have themselves embarked on efforts to improve their coast guard. Until March, it had five separate entities that performed the same efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard. Now they have combined four of those together, Lee said.
"They took a lesson looking across the spectrum there and saw how we do business," he said.
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