Vietnam violating agreements

Hanoi should take history into consideration, stop disturbing Chinese operations and be constructive about partnership

On May 2, 2014, a Chinese company's rig started drilling operations inside the contiguous zone of China's Xisha Islands for the purpose of oil and gas exploration. Vietnam sent a large number of vessels, including armed vessels, to the site illegally and forcefully disrupted the Chinese operations and rammed Chinese government vessels on escort and security missions there. By stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, Vietnam has gone against its word and obligations.

Vietnam's claims and provocative actions on the sea run counter to the historical and objective facts. The Xisha Islands are an inherent part of China's territory, over which there is no dispute. China was the first to discover, develop, exploit and exercise jurisdiction over the Xisha Islands. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the Chinese government had already established jurisdiction over the Xisha Islands and sent naval forces to patrol the waters there.

In 1911, the government of the Republic of China announced its decision to put the Xisha Islands and their adjacent waters under the jurisdiction of Yaxian county of Hainan Island. Japan invaded and occupied the Xisha Islands during World War II. After Japan's surrender in 1945, in accordance with a series of international documents, the Chinese government sent military vessels with senior officials to the Xisha Islands and in November 1946 a ceremony was held to mark the return of the islands, a stone tablet was erected to commemorate the handover and troops were stationed there afterwards. The Xisha Islands, which had once been illegally occupied by a foreign country, were thus returned to the jurisdiction of the Chinese government.

Disregarding history and the facts, Hanoi has fabricated so-called historical and legal bases to "prove" its "sovereignty" over the Xisha Islands in a bid to mislead people and create a territorial dispute. It is trying to gain sympathy from the international society by disguising itself as "weak" so as to occupy the moral high ground and gain the support of international public opinion.

Vietnam has broken its word, reneging on its promise that it recognizes the Xisha Islands as part of China's territory. On Sept 4, 1958, the Chinese government issued a declaration stating that the breadth of the territorial waters of the People's Republic of China shall be 12 nautical miles and making it clear that "this provision applies to all the territories of the People's Republic of China, including ... the Xisha Islands". On Sept 14, the prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam Pham Van Dong sent a diplomatic note to premier Zhou Enlai of China, solemnly stating that "the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam recognizes and supports the declaration of the government of the People's Republic of China on its decision concerning China's territorial sea made on Sept 4, 1958' and "the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam respects this decision".