~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

[Year 1997]
[Year 1998]
[Year 1999]
[Year 2000]
[Year 2001]

China island resort plan draws Vietnam's fire

BEIJING - A plan by China to build a tourist resort on a South China Sea island claimed by Vietnam drew a sharp rebuke on Thursday from Hanoi.
The plan to develop one of the disputed Paracel Islands as ``China's Hawaii'' -- complete with hotels and restaurants -- was reported last week by Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper.
Reacting to that report, the official Vietnam News Agency quoted an unidentified foreign ministry official as saying:
``Any illegal activities taken by foreign countries in the Paracel and Spratly islands are a violation of Vietnam's territorial sovereignty.''
China claims the Paracels are part of its tropical island province of Hainan. The islands lie 300 nautical miles south of Hong Kong and 145 nautical miles east of the Vietnamese port of Danang.
The Spratlys are scattered 215 nautical miles south of the Paracels and are claimed wholly or in part by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
Ming Pao said the Paracels were chosen for tourist development because they were completely controlled by China.
The Hanoi official said Vietnam's stance was based on evidence that reaffirmed Hanoi's sovereignty over the two archipelagos.
Asked to comment on the Vietnamese statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao repeated Beijing's uncompromising position.
``The Chinese stance on the Paracel Islands is extremely clear: they have been a part of Chinese territory since ancient times,'' he told a news briefing.
A Chinese construction ministry official contacted in Hainan confirmed China was moving forward with a plan to build an international tourist mecca on Yongxing Island, the largest of the Paracels.
``There will be no large-scale entertainment facilities, because tourists aim to enjoy the natural scenery there,'' said the official, who declined to give his name.
``We are preparing to implement the plan now by building a road around the island and water supply facilities,'' he said by telephone.
He added that the project was going ahead in consultation with military authorities on the island.
``The island has been harassed by Vietnam and the Philippines because it is isolated with only some military troops,'' said the official. ``If China develops it into a famous tourist resort, other countries will stop harassing it.''
Last month China announced it had set up a ground satellite station and a telephone booth on Yongxing Island.
Chinese forces seized the Paracels from South Vietnam in 1974, a year before the unification of Vietnam. It calls them the Xisha Islands.
Beijing insists that nearly all islands in the South China Sea have belonged to China since the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to 220 A.D.). To back its claim, it has produced ancient Chinese pottery it said was found on the islands.
Chinese vessels have been in tense showdowns with ships from Vietnam and the Philippines around the Spratlys.
The Spratlys are a collection of 200 islets, reefs and shoals that straddle vital sea-lanes and sit on top of vast petroleum and natural gas reserves.

By Paul Eckert , REUTERS - April 9th 1998.