By James Pearson
HANOI, July 16 (Reuters) - The United States this week
hardened its position on the South China Sea, where it has
accused China of attempting to build a "maritime empire" in the
potentially energy-rich waters, despite regional concerns.
The rivals have accused each other of stoking tension in the
strategic waterway at a time of strained relations over
everything from the new coronavirus to trade to Hong Kong.
A statement from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on July
13 was the first time the United States had called China's
claims in the sea unlawful and accused Beijing of a "campaign of
bullying". But heated rhetoric has also been on the rise in the region,
where Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam
challenge China's claim to about 90% of the sea.
REGIONAL TENSIONS
Vietnam, frequently at loggerheads with China over the
issue, is this year chairing the 10-member Association of South
East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
At a June 26 summit in Hanoi, Vietnam and the Philippines -
China's most vocal challengers over the sea - warned of growing
regional insecurity amid concern that Beijing was advancing
territorial claims under the cover of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As China held military drills in the South China Sea this
month, Vietnam said Beijing's actions were "detrimental" to its
relationship with the Southeast Asian bloc. The United States
simultaneously deployed two aircraft carriers to the area for
what it said were pre-planned exercises.
In a blustery response to the Chinese drills, Philippine
Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin said China "will be met with the
severest response, diplomatic and whatever else is appropriate",
if the exercises encroached on Philippine territory.
That followed a surprise move by President Rodrigo Duterte -
who had courted Beijing since taking office in 2016 - to suspend
his decision to scrap a two-decade-old troop deployment
agreement with the United States.
TROUBLED WATERS
China illustrates its claims with a vague, U-shaped
"nine-dash line" that includes swathes of Vietnam's exclusive
economic zone, or EEZ, as well as the Paracel Islands and
Spratly Islands. It also overlaps the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
A tribunal at The Hague, based on a suit brought by the
Philippines, ruled in 2016 that China has no "historic title"
over the waters, and that its line was superseded by the 1982
U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Last year, Chinese and Vietnamese vessels became embroiled
in a months-long standoff in Vietnam's EEZ where a Chinese
research vessel conducted a sweeping seismic survey of waters
overlapping Vietnamese oil blocks.
In May, the same Chinese research vessel was involved in
another month-long standoff with Malaysian ships in Malaysia's
EEZ, close to where a drillship contracted by Malaysian state
oil firm Petronas had been operating.
Chinese incursions happened 89 times between 2016 and 2019,
Malaysia's government said on Tuesday. Indonesia has also begun to take a tougher stance. In
January, Jakarta summoned China's ambassador and dispatched air
and sea patrols after Chinese vessels entered Indonesia's EEZ
around the northern Natuna islands.
The tensions have already affected Vietnamese oil production
in the area, including operations controlled by Russia's Rosneft
ROSN.MM and Spain's Repsol REP.MC .
"We're already seeing reduced appetite for oil and gas
investment in Vietnam," said Andrew Harwood, research director
at consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie.
"Escalating tensions will not improve the situation".