China Plays Cat and Mouse With Vietnam Coast Guard on Rig

[Purveyor]

By Bloomberg News May 14, 2014 9:28 AM ET

From his Vietnamese Coast Guard boat at night, Lieutenant Phan Chi Cuong can see the yellow lights of an oil rig 10 nautical miles away. Owned by a Chinese company, it sits in waters near islands claimed by both nations in the South China Sea.

Dozens of ships clutter the area, playing a daily game of cat and mouse in rough seas as China shields the rig with its vessels. At stake is the resource-rich waters around the contested Paracel Islands, in a dispute that has soured ties between the two Communist nations as China steps up its territorial assertions in the region.

An officer on Coast Guard vessel No. 8003, Cuong said his boat motored to 6.5 nautical miles from the rig today before being flanked and chased off by two Chinese coast guard ships that came as close as 400 meters (1,312 feet), blasting horns and playing recordings stating China’s sovereignty over the area. Four times the Chinese boats cut in front of the Vietnamese ship, he said.

Cuong said his vessel, which has been at sea since May 5 with 50 crew, got to 6 nautical miles yesterday from the rig before being forced back, and he saw a Vietnamese ship rammed. Crew members in the cabin relayed the boat’s position to superiors onshore as they pulled back.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-14/china-plays-cat-and-mouse-with-vietnam-coast-guard-on-rig.html

[okaawhatever]

1. Here is a good map to explain the dispute:

While the islands themselves are contested, the water where the Chinese placed the oil rig is considered Vietnamese waters by UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). Notice they didn't put the oil rig on their side of the Paracels, which would have placed it in Chinese waters regardless of the islands.




Here is the famous nine-dash line. The area China claims as it's own. It does not respect the 200 mile exclusive economic zone set up by UNCLOS.

Con