China warns Vietnam over Spratly islands
BEIJING - A lingering dispute between China and Vietnam flared up Thursday over Vietnamese plans to send tourists to the Spratly archipelago, as both sides claimed sovereignty over the potentially oil-rich islands. China warned Vietnam against sending boatloads of tourists to the South China Sea islands, known in Chinese as the Nansha, saying it would be violating Chinese territorial integrity.
"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha archipelago and the surrounding sea," said foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan, adding that Beijing has lodged representations with the Vietnamese over the issue. Vietnam also claimed sovereignty over the Spratlys Thursday, reiterating its intention of sending tourists to the islands in April, and saying it had every right to do so.
"Organising such a tour to visit localities within Vietnam is ... normal," foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung said at a press conference. A Vietnamese official said Wednesday the mid-April tour, if successful, would be the first in a series of trips organised for local tourists to the barren islands. Dung said Vietnam had "indisputable sovereignty" over not just the Spratlys, but also the Paracels, another group of islands in the South China Sea.
Agence France Presse - March 26, 2004
Vietnam's tourist program protested
China has lodged solemn representation with Vietnam over its attempt to open a tourist route and launch tourist activities next month to the Nansha Islands, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Beijing yesterday.
Kong Quan said, in response to a journalist's question, that China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and surrounding waters and the move taken by Vietnam infringed upon China's territorial sovereignty. Kong said it is the common responsibility of all relevant countries in the region to maintain stability in the South China Sea.
"We hope relevant countries honor the consensus and respect the principles set forth in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea between China and the Association of South East Asian Nations," he said.Kong also urged relevant sides to correct the wrongdoing, avoid taking any act that may lead to further complication of the situation and make concrete efforts to maintain stability in the South China Sea.
Vietnam's government announced plans this week to take 100 local tourists to the Nansha Islands in mid-April to visit Vietnamese military outposts.It would be the first such tour of the islands, and visits would be offered to foreign tourists if all goes well, the government said.
The islands are believed to have rich oil and natural gas reserves.
Xinhua - March 26, 2004
Vietnam reaffirms sovereignty over disputed Spratly Islands
HANOI - Vietnam reaffirmed its sovereignty over the Spratly Islands Thursday, one day after announcing it would start sending tourists to the disputed islands in the South China Sea, the state media said.
“Vietnam has time and time again asserted its indisputable sovereignty over both Truong Sa [Spratley] and Hoang Sa [Paracel] archipelagoes,” foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung was quoted as saying in the state media. A Vietnamese official said on Wednesday that local tourists could visit the Spratlys if an inaugural trip planned for mid-April was a success. Dung’s comments followed a similar statement on March 18 by his Chinese counterpart Kong Quan.
“We have on many occasions stressed that China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha [Spratly] Islands and its surrounding waters,” Kong said. “We have also clearly stated that the Chinese government is ready to actively explore with countries concerned [ . . . ] ways and means to appropriately handle the issue of South China Sea.”
According to a Vietnamese diplomatic source who requested anonymity, Beijing had been informed about Hanoi’s tourism plans and Kong’s comments were probably aimed at showing indirectly Beijing’s disapproval.
Straddling vital shipping lanes and believed to contain vast oil and gas reserves, the Spratlys are claimed by Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, China and Taiwan, and are a source of regional tension. Five of the claimants, including Vietnam, have military garrisons on islands and reefs in the chain. The precise number of Vietnamese personnel stationed there is a state secret. Vietnam and China clashed in 1988 and 1992 over the Spratlys.
In November 2002, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) signed a treaty with China calling on all the claimants to avoid actions which may heighten tensions there. The Philippines said on Wednesday it would question its embassy in Hanoi on the decision to send tourists to the Spratlys.
“We would like first to check on this. It is proper to have some kind of dialogue, consultation among the claimant countries if this is okay,” foreign affairs spokesperson Julia Heidemann said.
Agence France Presse - March 26, 2004
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