The war of words between China and Vietnam over the South China Sea stand-off intensified as Beijing accused Hanoi of stirring up tensions with attempts to stop its oil exploration amid Vietnamese moves to join the Philippines in taking the dispute to the UN.
“Who is creating tensions in the South China SeaIJ Who is undermining peace and stability in the South China SeaIJ Who is making provocations on the legitimate rights of the other countryIJ Facts speak louder than words,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong lei said. He was reacting to allegations by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung accusing China of creating extremely dangerous situation by deploying its oil rig in the disputed waters.
Dung travelled to the Philippines, which too has a similar dispute with China in the South China Sea, and held talks with President Benigno Aquino III to counter Beijing’s moves.The Philippines has already moved its dispute to the UN Convention of law of Seas (UNClOS).China refused take part in the arbitration.
Dung said Vietnam will not give up its rights of sovereignty over the disputes islands and condemned the deployment of the Chinese rig which has resulted in anti-China riots in Vietnam.While two Chinese nationals were officially confirmed to have died in the riots and over 100 injured, China has evacuated over 4,000 of its workers from Vietnam.“What Vietnam needs to and should do now is to stop interferences in all forms into Chinese operations, harshly punish criminals who committed violence, compensate the losses of Chinese people and companies and ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in Vietnam,”Hong said.