Cambodian Opposition Slammed Over Charges of Loss of Territory to Vietnam

 

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s administration on Friday hit out at opposition leaders for accusing the government of ceding territory to Vietnam at a ceremony this week commemorating the 65th anniversary of loss of land belonging to the Khmer Krom ethnic minority to Hanoi.

Government spokesman Keo Remy said Friday that opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) chief Sam Rainsy and his deputy Kem Sokha were “playing politics” by making such accusations.“Their allegations are groundless,” he said of the claim that Hun Sen had ceded islands, such as Phu Quoc (in Khmer, Koh Tral), and other land to Vietnam, during a press conference in the capital Phnom Penh on Friday.

On Wednesday, while attending an event to mark the day in 1949 when France officially turned over its Cochinchina colony—which included the former Kampuchea Krom provinces—to Hanoi, Sam Rainsy accused Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of facilitating the loss to Vietnam of additional Cambodian territory through economic land concessions.

“Hun Sen’s government is granting land concession licenses to Vietnam,” Sam Rainsy said, referring to the many Vietnamese companies that have set up rubber plantations and other businesses in the country.“They are allowing Vietnam to encroach on our land,” he said.Sam Rainsy likened the granting of concessions to a form of “colonization” which he said led to Vietnamese control of Kampuchea Krom.

“What is happening now in Cambodia is reminiscent of the Vietnamese colonization of Kampuchea Krom [until the 20th century] when more and more foreign settlers were occupying a Khmer land, which was finally annexed by Vietnam following a dramatic change in the demographic balance,” he said.Sam Rainsy who, along with Kem Sokha, attended the event at Phnom Penh’s Wat Samakki Raingsey on the invitation of Khmer Krom activists, also promised the roughly 600 people in attendance that if the CNRP was elected to government, he would grant identification cards and citizen’s rights to members of the ethnic minority that leave Vietnam and move to Cambodia.Earlier, Kem Sokha had said that if his party was elected, he would make June 4 a national holiday to remember the loss of Kampuchea Krom, and pledged to provide greater protection of rights to Khmer Krom who resettle in Cambodia.

Princess Sisowath Pong Neary Monipong, a representative of the Royal Palace who attended the ceremony, and who is also Khmer Krom, ended the proceedings by saying that she neither “praised nor blamed” the speakers or the issues that were discussed, according to a report by the Cambodia Daily.Phnom Penh municipal officials earlier in the week had banned Wat Samakki Raingsey, which is about 60 percent populated by Khmer Krom monks and is often seen as a refuge of last resort for members of the minority, from hosting a public forum at the ceremony, fearing a rise in racial tension.

Protecting rights

France’s Cochinchina colony, which included the former provinces of Kampuchea Krom, was officially ceded to Vietnam in 1949, but had been under Vietnamese control since the mid-17th century.

One of the most important seaports of Kampuchea Krom was once called Prey Nokor, but is now known as Ho Chi Minh City—the financial hub of Vietnam and one of the most bustling metropolises in Southeast Asia.Since Hanoi took control, the Khmer Krom living in Vietnam—believed to number considerably more than one million and who are ethnically similar to most Cambodians—have increasingly faced social persecution and strict religious controls, according to rights groups.

Khmer Kampuchea Friends Association director Thach Setha told RFA’s Khmer Service that the Khmer Krom in Vietnam are not demanding their land back, but simply asking Hanoi to grant them their indigenous rights.“It is the responsibility of the government and King [Norodom Sihamoni] to decide whether they want to claim the land back,” he said.Some Khmer Krom groups have recently called for Cambodians around the world to travel to the former Kampuchea Krom provinces to “bridge the gap” with the ethnic minority.

Tran Van Thong, a spokesman with the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh, told RFA that Hanoi welcomes all visitors to the country, but warned that any revolt campaign would be dealt with according to Vietnamese and international law.“Americans, Laos, Thais or Cambodians that travel to Vietnam in peace are welcome, but if they go to Vietnam to break any laws we will resolve those violations according to law,” he said.

He denied that Cambodia had “lost” Kampuchea Krom to Vietnam, adding that the land had “never belonged” to the kingdom in the first place.“The claim that Cambodia lost land to Vietnam is groundless,” he said, adding that “there is no evidence” to support it.

Persecution

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch has said the Khmer Krom face serious restrictions of freedom of expression, assembly, association, information, and movement in Vietnam.  The Vietnamese government has banned Khmer Krom human rights publications and tightly controls the practice of Theravada Buddhism by the minority group, which sees the religion as a foundation of their distinct culture and ethnic identity.

On the other side of the border, the Khmer Krom who leave Vietnam for Cambodia remain one of the country’s “most disenfranchised groups,” Human Rights Watch said.Because they are often perceived as Vietnamese by Cambodians, many Khmer Krom in Cambodia face social and economic discrimination. They also face hurdles in legalizing their status in the country, as authorities have failed to grant many Khmer Krom citizenship or residence rights despite promises to treat them as Cambodian citizens, according to Human Rights Watch.

Shan Rebels Call for Repeal of Unlawful Association Act

 
A powerful ethnic Shan rebel group in Myanmar called on the government in talks Friday to repeal a law used to detain a regional politician linked with the group in the midst of nationwide cease-fire talks.Leaders from the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and its military wing the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) made the demand to abolish the law during peace talks in Yangon with the government’s top peace negotiator Minister Aung Min.

The call followed the month-long detention of Sai Jan, a village representative for the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), who was charged under a provision of the 1908 Unlawful Association Act.He was charged under Article 71/1 of the law for his association with the RCSS/SSA-S.SSA spokesman Colonel Sai La said the leaders had complained to Aung Min that Sai Jan should not have been punished for his ties to the RCSS/SSA-S, which has a cease-fire agreement with the government.

The leaders told the negotiators it should not be considered illegal for individuals to associate with any rebel groups who have peace agreements with the government and are involved in the nationwide cease-fire talks, he said.  “We discussed today on the problems that are not supposed to happen, such as the charge against Sai Jan,” he said. “We came here to discuss preventing further problems including people being charged under 17/1 while all ethnic groups are collaborating for cease-fire and peace.”

“It is the government’s responsibility to abolish these laws [and] not consider us banned groups.”“The government should announce that all political parties, ethnic armed groups, and individual who are working together for peace are free from [being considered] unlawful associations.”

Controversial law

Article 17/1 of the Unlawful Association Act sets out prison terms of between two and three years for being a member of an “unlawful association,” making contributions to one, or assisting its operations.Sai Jan, SNLD chairman of Nanlinmine Village in Shan state’s Kyaington Township, was charged on May 5. But the charges were withdrawn on May 29 following an outcry from the RCSS/SSA and he was freed from Kengtung prison.

The Unlawful Association Act was used during the decades of military junta rule to detain those linked to rebel groups. President Thein Sein’s reformist government has been racing to end decades of conflict with the country’s ethnic rebel groups and pushing for them to jointly sign a nationwide cease-fire agreement. The RCSS/SSA-S has not joined the Nationwide Cease-fire Coordination Team of 16 rebel groups hammering out the joint accord, but has attended government-NCCT talks and expressed support for the endeavor.

Meanwhile near the Shan state capital Taunggyi, a village representative for Myanmar’s main opposition party was found shot to death on Thursday morning. The man, Sai San Tun, a local representative for the National League for Democracy (NLD), had campaigned for the return of land grabbed by the Myanmar military in an area where government troops, the SSA-S, and an ethnic Pa-O militia are known to operate.

A bridge too far for Sokha?

 
Deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha has drawn the ire of the government and civil society groups after on Wednesday accusing Vietnam of orchestrating the Koh Pich bridge stampede that killed more than 350 people in 2010 as part of a plot to “eliminate the Khmer race, tradition and culture”.
Government spokesman Phay Siphan yesterday called the allegations “groundless and ridiculous”, while Cambodian Center for Human Rights chairman Ou Virak said it was irresponsible of a political leader to propagate inflammatory “conspiracy theories”, especially given that no government officials have yet been held personally accountable for the tragedy.

Speaking at a ceremony on Wednesday to mark the 65th anniversary of France’s transfer of the former Kampuchea Krom provinces to Vietnam, Sokha, deputy head of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, lambasted the Kingdom’s eastern neighbour for trying to destroy Khmer culture, using the stampede as an apparent example.“The yuon [Vietnamese] have used the CPP and Hun Sen to eliminate the Khmer race, tradition and culture … and now [since 2010] there has been no Water Festival.… They created an incident to kill Khmers at Koh Pich, using this [as a] reason to eliminate our Cambodian Water Festival tradition,” he said.

The Water Festival – the Kingdom’s biggest public event, which draws millions to the capital’s riverfront each year – has been called off by the government for each of the three years since the stampede.The tragedy occurred on the last day of the 2010 festival and claimed 353 lives. An official government investigation into the incident quickly concluded that the swaying of the bridge was what had induced panic, sparking a stampede on the overcrowded walkway.
Though Prime Minister Hun Sen said the disaster was the worst calamity to befall Cambodia since the rise of the Khmer Rouge, he also said that no public officials would be personally held to account.
When reached yesterday to clarify his comments, Sokha explained that given the Water Festival has not been held since the stampede and that Vietnam “has always” assailed Khmer people and culture, there could well be a link between the two.

“That’s why I would like us to think about the problem [related to the government] stopping the Water Festival being held. We are worried in case it could be the trick [of the Vietnamese] to eliminate our traditions,” he said.“There were deaths at Koh Pich with no investigation at all and no real reason [given] at all for the incident. There was no transparent [investigation] so we could understand why the incident happened. That is why we are worried about this point.
“I did not accuse [Vietnam] completely. I just thought about the history. I guess I did not say it was the [definitive] truth.… I wanted to say that one country wants to eliminate the race of another country [and] they eliminate through traditions, the same as in Kampuchea Krom,” he said, referring to the area in what is now southern Vietnam that was signed over by the French in 1949. Khmer Kroms are Khmers from that geographic area.

CCHR chairman Ou Virak yesterday said that while there was no doubt Vietnam had occupied Cambodia in the 1980s and continues to “undermine the democratic process in Cambodia” through political influence, there was no evidence supporting Sokha’s “ridiculous” theory.
“There needs to be some more responsible leadership in this country. And [as] always with the opposition, that’s certainly a bit disappointing,” he said.
“Certainly, many Cambodian people would love to believe such juicy conspiracy theories, it’s easier to just blame somebody else, it’s easier to come up with these things. I don’t blame the innocent Cambodian people [who believe this], but I expect more from politicians who are trying to lead this country.”
Preap Kol, executive director at Transparency International Cambodia, said Sokha’s statement could create confusion as to who should be held accountable for the stampede.
“I find this particular remark controversial and unreliable unless there is a strong evidence to support such claim,” he said in an email.
“People have a desire to see some officials being held accountable for the tragedy [that] occurred in Koh Pich but this statement might even further confuse people on who should have been responsible for the accident.”
Thun Saray, president of rights group Adhoc, said he did not agree with Sokha’s allegation, calling the stampede a “tragic accident”.
“The stampede at Koh Pich was tragic and nobody has taken responsibility for what happened. In other countries, when such an event occurs, those in charge are held responsible. This has not been the case here.”
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan yesterday said that Sokha was undermining his credibility as a political leader by making such accusations, which were “groundless and ridiculous”.
“It’s nonsense to say that, to accuse the government of, under the pressure of the Vietnamese, abolishing the culture of the Water Festival. It’s an abuse of freedom of expression,” he said.
“The government launched an investigation and found nothing to reveal that anything like terrorism [occurred at Koh Pich].… It was only a stampede caused by people panicking.”
Siphan added that the CNRP could request that the National Assembly review the incident again after it ends its parliamentary boycott.
Vietnamese Embassy spokesman Tran Van Thong said that Sokha’s accusation regarding Koh Pich was “baseless”.
“We don’t understand about his idea and why he is twisting [things] like this. He invented [this] and has accused us without any basis, and we have difficulty understanding why.”
The Council of Ministers will hold a press conference today to address allegations made by opposition leaders regarding the Khmer Krom and Vietnam on Wednesday, it said yesterday.
CNRP leader Sam Rainsy could not be reached for comment yesterday.

KR denial law sees no cases in 1st year

 

One year ago this week, Cambodian lawmakers passed a bill criminalising the denial of atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge regime in the mid- to late-1970s, when nearly two million people lost their lives.Publicly refusing to recognise, opposing, denying or challenging the accepted narrative of what occurred would cost offenders up to two years in prison and as much as $1,000 in fines.

Since then, however, no one in Cambodia has denied those atrocities – at least not publicly – no one has been successfuly prosecuted for the denial, and no one has been sent to prison or fined. In fact, no one has said much at all about the Law on Refusing to Recognise Crimes Committed During Democratic Kampuchea – the title of which includes the official name of the Khmer Rouge state.

After passing on June 7 last year, the legislation faded into darkness faster than its meteoric flight through parliament.

Rubber-stamped in the heat of the election season, the law was roundly derided for its politicised nature and its potential to limit free speech. And despite the passage of time, legal experts can’t find reasons to view the law in any other terms.“I think the speed by which the law was passed and the subsequent absence of prosecutions would suggest the law was intended to be a political statement,” said Christopher Dearing, legal adviser to the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-CAM), the country’s pre-eminent archive of Khmer Rouge history.Because of the Holocaust, laws criminalising genocide denial are relatively common in Western Europe. Rwanda also has measures to punish those who deny the slaughter of more than a million Tutsis in 1994, though observers have decried the way it is used to silence opposition voices.Cambodia has never had such a bill, but Cambodia has also never had such an election as it did last year, when the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party’s popularity nearly toppled long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen.

About two months before the election, on May 20, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party went into smear campaign mode by releasing an audio recording on the Council of Ministers website of Kem Sokha describing the Khmer Rouge torture centre S-21 in Phnom Penh as an invention of the Vietnamese.At that stage of the campaign, opposition leader Sam Rainsy had not yet been granted a Royal pardon to return from self-exile in France, where he was avoiding prison sentences for defamation and for uprooting posts on the border with Vietnam. 

Sokha, his deputy, was bearing the brunt of the mudslinging. While juggling accusations that he had claimed S-21 was an elaborate conspiracy, instead of a hellhole in which nearly 14,000 people were tortured and then executed, he was also being forced to deny lurid allegations that he had a mistress and engaged in sex with a minor.Hun Sen used his widely listened-to speeches to talk about both issues. In a speech soon after the recording was posted, he floated the idea of a genocide denial law. Weeks later, the Law on Refusing to Recognise Crimes Committed During Democratic Kampuchea passed a CPP-dominated National Assembly (opposition members had been kicked out of parliament after a merger between two parties formed what is now known as the Cambodia National Rescue Party). 

In addition to the fines and sentences for individuals, a proviso also allows legal entities to be held criminally liable if their representatives are found guilty of breaking the law – wording that seemed directed right at the opposition deputy.Sokha, who declined to comment for this article, has previously said his words about the notorious detention centre were spliced and rearranged.

Chum Mey, the S-21 prison survivor who sued Sokha for defamation and led a march against him, declined to comment yesterday, except to say that the lawsuit is still on.

“I have already filed a complaint with the court. I still demand him to appear in court to clarify clearly, and I will take a recording tape to play for him. He said that after the election he would appear in court to clarify, and now the election has finished, so he must appear in court.”

Last year, after Rainsy returned in July and the CNRP made huge gains in the polls later that month, the full-on attack against Sokha began to recede. As the focus switched to allegations of election rigging, and elected opposition members refused to take their seats in the National Assembly in September, the law faded into legal obscurity.

“I think it may be that, for political reasons, they wanted to discredit Kem Sokha,” said Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project. “But as a result, not so effective. Didn’t work.”For Sokha, it represents a time better left forgotten. He may, however, find the S-21 recording gaining new life this week, after comments he made at a religious ceremony on Wednesday in which he seemed to blame the 2011 Koh Pich bridge stampede – which killed more than 350 people – on Vietnamese machinations.For Mey, who sells his memoir on the grounds of S-21, also known as Tuol Sleng, it’s apparently a piece of legislation he doesn’t care to highlight, though his lawsuit against Sokha and his demand that he apologise all added some weight to the momentum behind the bill.

For ruling party lawmakers who pushed the legislation through parliament, it’s hard to say what they think of it a year later.Cheam Yeap, senior party lawmaker and National Assembly spokesman, hung up the phone and did not return a follow-up call. Chheang Vun, also a spokesman for the assembly, told a reporter to come to his office because he doesn’t like interviews over the phone.

However, ignoring doesn’t mean discarding.Dearing, from DC-CAM, said that the absence of prosecutions is good, but the fact that the law still exists is “troubling”.“Any laws that regulate speech carry immense implications for individual freedom and consequently democratic culture,” he said. “Without prosecutions, I think the law still poses great risks.”

Sam Oeun of the Cambodian Defender’s Project claims that the impact on speech is already being felt.“After the law defined that, the people are a little bit scared, so they stopped talking about that.”

Vietnam to resolutely defend national sovereignty

Professor Dr Vu Van Hien

In the interview, Dr Hien stated the Party Central Theoretical Council anticipated that sooner or later China would seek to monopolize the East Sea and realize its dream of becoming a "greater China" at sea through the use of aggressive and illegal actions towards Vietnam and its neighbours.
Vietnam and neighbouring countries have always been cognizant of this deep-seated intention of China. Therefore, conflict in the East Sea was, in the words of Dr Hien, inevitable as it is part and parcel of China’s policies and orientations.
In 2011 and 2012, China cut cables of Vietnamese oil exploration ships and Vietnam at the time availed itself of all diplomatic measures at its disposal to demand China immediately stop the wrongful activities.
However, the Chinese did not stop there; in direct contradiction, they devised a scheme to illegally monopolize the East Sea by putting the Haiyang Shiyou oil rig inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf on May 1, 2014 and thereby escalate tension in the East Sea.
Dr. Hien emphasized that the Party and Government of Vietnam have always had the strongest of desires to stand united with all the nations in the world, especially China - a large neighbouring country.
Although the two countries have historically experienced a number of upheavals, Vietnam has always held the friendship in high regard and consistently has undertaken measures to create a perfect harmony and an atmosphere of peaceful friendly cooperation between the two nations.
Regarding the illegal stationing of a giant oil rig by China in Vietnam’s territorial waters, the view of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) is that the country should stand resolute in its defence of national territorial sovereignty and fight to the end to defend the sovereignty.
However, the country should always stand prepared to resolve the situation in a peaceful manner resulting in a positive and prosperous development for the region as a whole.
Mr. Hien also said the histories of Vietnam and the world had a lot of evidence clearly showing two archipelagoes- Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) belong to Vietnam.
From the Han dynasty (In 203-220 BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) of China, there are not any documents demonstrating the sovereignty of Spratly and Paracel islands rightfully belong to China.
World Atlas of Philip Vantermanden published in 1927 in Europe also specified Vietnam belonging to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands. Also, this map clearly indicated the location of China's southernmost was Hainan island.

A map drawn by Jodocus Hondius in 1613 shows Paracel Islands (Hoang Sa), including all Vietnamese islands from the southern part of the Tonkin Gulf to the southern coast of Vietnam, except Pulo Condor (Con Dao) and Pulo Cici (Phu Quoc Island) which were plotted separately.

At the San Francisco conference in the US in September 1951 discussing territorial issues after the World War II, 46/51 countries decided to vote for Vietnam recognizing the country’s sovereignty over the two archipelagoes.
Mr Hien confirmed China used force to invade the eastern part of the sovereignty of Vietnam’s Paracel island in 1956 after China signed a peaceful agreement in the Indochina Peninsula.
In 1974, China once again used force occupying the western part of the archipelago. More seriously, in 1988, China again sent troops invading Collins rocks, the Johnson South Reef belonging to Vietnam’s Spratly Island.
In recent years, China has continuously escalated encroachment activities in the East Sea- making its official claim to “nine-dash” (May 2009), cutting the cables of Vietnamese ships Binh Minh 2 and Viking 2 (May/June 2011), establishing "Sansha City" (June 2012), unilaterally issuing a fishing ban in the East Sea every year and taking enforcement measures on Fisheries Law of the People's Republic of China's Hainan Province (effective from January 2014).
In addition, China has organized patrols and military exercises in the East Sea to flaunt its power as a deterrence to other claimants, intensified activities pertaining to oil and gas exploration, archaeology and tourism development tourism, strengthened occupied bases, chased and attacked Vietnamese fishing vessels in a blatant manner in defiance of public opinion and international law.
Besides, China also claims an "absolutely right" to establish an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in the East Sea.
In 2013, China increased its defence budget by 10.7% to US$116 billion with a focus on developing the navy. China also constantly reinforced institutions in "Sansha” and set up a radio and TV station “Sansha ".
Thus, illegal actions taken by China in recent times were the result of deliberate and careful calculations designed to implement a long-term conspiratorial agenda to monopolize the East Sea.
At its 18th Congress, the Communist Party of China (CPC) identified strategies to develop China into a "sea power". To reach this goal, China adopted a series of policies to strengthen the “practical management” in the East Sea.
The policies included publishing two Defence White Paper’s entitled “The Diversified Employment of China's Armed Forces” and "Diplomatic White Book 2013” in which for the first time a separate section was devoted to "protect maritime rights and interests of China". These documents emphasized protecting core national interests and affirmed the important task of the Chinese army is to protect maritime rights and interests.
Notably, China decided to establish the National Security Committee to direct island security work, consolidate island management agencies, reform law enforcement forces at sea aiming to broaden the scope of their activities.
The State Oceanic Administration of China also established an “island research centre”.
After studying China’s plot to monopolize the East Sea, its ambitions became clear: It wants to gradually legalize a maritime boundary claim "U-shaped " by applying tricks in all fields-communications, legal means, diplomacy and economics, using of force and causing localized conflicts to turn nothing into something, undisputed into disputed waters there by tapping natural resources located in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the East Sea littoral states.

Chinese fishing ship (L) attacking a Vietnamese fishing vessel.

Since then, the East China Sea will be considered as their home pond, clearing the way to the ocean to turn itself into a sea superpower that controls the international sea lifeline through the East Sea and the natural resources of the East Sea.
“Vietnam is a peace-loving nation that always wants to keep peace with China. Vietnam also thanks the goodwill statements by neighbouring countries, Japan and the US that condemned China’s misconduct and ethical violations of international law in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone.
The country states that security interests in the East Sea are not only of its but of the whole region and the world including the US and Japan. The US and Japan’s deep concern over this matter is entirely plausible and is also suggestive for a better future in the East Sea.” Hien concluded.

China’s tactics during HD-981 drilling rig incident

A vessel of the China Coast Guard attacked a ship of the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance.


Using this tactic, China used “white vessels” (civilian ships) instead of "grey ships" (the navy) to cope with law enforcement forces of neighboring countries. This strategy was successful in driving away fishing vessels of the Philippines out of the Scarborough reef.
China also uses a mobile drilling rig, not a fixed one. The mobility allows it to quickly put the rig into the desired position in a short time, enough to surprise the opponent, and does not allow timely intervention from outside.

The opponent also does not enough time to implement long-term measures such as legal acts. The time to file an international case is often quite long.The Philippines filed a petition against China after the Scarborough incident in February 2013, but it will take one year for court establishment procedures and memorandum preparation to be completed. So, it will not be until this September that the court may be accepting the case.During that time, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) was able to move the rig so the Court will have no jurisdiction since the offending object has been withdrawn.

China can also mobilize a large number of fishing vessels to stop, provoke and attack law enforcement forces of neighboring countries to create a pretext for localized conflicts and an attack of “gray ships”.History has proven that Chinese fishing vessels conducted aggressive acts in Da Nang in 1962, in Hoang Sa (Paracels) in 1974 and Scarborough in 2012. Deploying its drilling rig in the North, China has not forgotten its expanding of the Gac Ma (Johnson) base in the South, using the stratagem “Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west”, to divert the opponent’s and the world community’s attention.

Position of HD-981 oil rig
China carefully worked out its plan to place the oil rig 17 nautical miles from Tri Ton Island in order to assert China's views on their 1996 baseline and that Tri Ton and other islands of Xisha Islands (Hoang Sa or Paracels of Vietnam) have the right to have the exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles and the continental shelf.This position also reinforces the view of China that Xisha (Hoang Sa of Vietnam) belongs to China, and that there is no dispute.

This position is also near Hainan Island so China can easily mobilize huge forces of maritime law enforcement, the navy and also fishing vessels to protect the rig.
If there is commercial oil, the distance from the rig to the oil pipeline system to Xisha or Hainan would be shorter. This position is located near block 119 that Exxon has been drilling, enough to put pressure on American companies but not lead to a confrontation with the US.
This area is only related to Vietnam and China, so Beijing expects that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – with its tradition of neutrality, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries - will have no excuse to object to its actions.Also, this position does not greatly affect international shipping lanes in the East Sea (South China Sea) so China’s acts will not raise world concern over maritime security.On May 27, China moved the rig to a new location, 25 nautical miles to the east-southeast of Tri Ton Island, 23 nautical miles from the first position to the east-northeast, about 150 nautical miles from Ly Son island of Vietnam. However, this position is still in the exclusive economic zone 200 nautical miles from Vietnam’s shore.However, attempts don’t always turn into reality.

Solutions
International conflicts often have an ending based on the balance of power and results in political, diplomatic, military, economic and media fields.Considering the economic scale, military forces and communication apparatus, Vietnam can’t compare with China - the most populous country in the world.But Vietnam’s viewpoint of restraint, not to use military force, and settlement of disputes by peaceful means is highly appreciated and supported by the countries in the region and the international community.The restraint of the Vietnam Coast Guard and Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance forces before the aggressive attacks of Chinese ships is not only for themselves but also for regional peace and stability in the world.

On the international politics chessboard, in an increasingly flat world, countries more and more need each other and a sustainable friendship.Vietnam’s perspective is evident in the statement by its senior leaders: "Vietnam will take all necessary, reasonable measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests. At the same time, Vietnam always shows goodwill, satisfactorily resolving disagreements through negotiation, dialogue and other peaceful means, in accordance with the common perception of senior leaders of the two countries, the bilateral agreement on the fundamentals principles on solving problems at sea, in accordance with the rules and practices of international law, especially the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, and to not damage the political credibility and cooperation between the two sides. "

According to Article 33 of the UN Charter, the peaceful means consist of negotiation, mediation, international organizations and legal action.Vietnam has been and will persist in negotiation, and maintain communication about the tense situation in the East Sea to the UN, ASEAN, the Non-Aligned Movement, and other countries. Indonesia and Russia have already expressed willingness to take the mediator role.The mediator role of Indonesia is also in line with the ASEAN policy of settling disagreements in the region without interference from outside. A conciliation commission may be established on the basis of the UN’s request. The commission’s decisions are not mandatory but its recommendations and international opinion will give a direction for the tension.
Vietnam can also choose a legal solution at the right time when other measures cannot solve the problem. All solutions that can be implemented depend on the goodwill of the parties.

Pakistan Taliban 'master bomber' gunned down amid deadly infighting

 

A suicide bombing "mastermind" in the Pakistan Taliban has been gunned down and killed in the country's northeastern tribal region, just days after a major faction in the militant group announced it was breaking away over ideological differences.Gunmen riding in a car attacked Ashiqullah Mehsud, a senior commander in the leadership of the group known formally as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in the village of Urmuz in North Waziristan on Thursday before speeding off, sources told CNN.No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, while the TTP has yet to issue a statement.

Mehsud was viewed as a successor to Qari Hussain Mehsud, the militant group's explosives expert whose notoriety includes allegedly recruiting children as suicide bombers.

Pakistani intelligence sources believe the incident is the result of internal rivalries between TTP factions.The Pakistan Taliban has been beset with months of deadly infighting, culminating in an announcement early this month by the group's Mehsud faction that it would be going its own way after failing to convince the leadership to give up what it said were "un-Islamic" practices, such as attacks in public places, extortion and kidnappings.It's the first split since the TTP -- a coalition of militant groups -- was founded in 2007, seeking to establish its version of sharia law across Pakistan.

Tensions within the TTP escalated after the group's leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in November last year, setting off a power struggle among top commanders of the TTP that led to violent clashes in which dozens of people were killed.

Appointed by a tribal council, Mullah Fazlullah has stood at the helm of the TPP since Mehsud's death. He hails from the country's Swat valley and is the first TTP leader who is not a Mehsud. He has struggled to contain the internal frictions among the group's factions, especially those within the Mehsud tribe, which makes up the majority of the TTP.

In a statement released last month, Azam Tariq, a spokesman for the breakaway Mehsuds, said the TTP leadership had "fallen into the hands of a bunch of conspirators ... involved in criminal activities like robbery and extortion."