China, Vietnam Conduct Joint Naval Patrols in Gulf of Tonkin

MIGleader

Banned Idiot
China, Vietnam Conduct Joint Naval Patrols in Gulf of Tonkin
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Mon, 1 May 2006, 02:25

China and Vietnam are conducting joint military patrols off the Gulf of Tonkin, the first-time the Chinese navy has taken part in military exercises with another country, state press said April 28.

The patrols began April 27 and it is hoped they will help “order and stability” in the gulf the Beijing Daily Messenger reported.

The neighbors signed an agreement in October to begin the joint patrols when Vietnamese Defense Minister Pham Van Tra met with his counterpart Cao Gangchuan in Beijing.

In August 2005, the two sides agreed to speed up the demarcation of their shared border and were expected to finalize a treaty that would also include neighboring Laos within a year’s time.

China invaded Vietnam in February 1979 following Hanoi’s intervention in Cambodia to oust Beijing’s Khmer Rouge allies.

The two nations fought again in 1988 over the disputed Spratly Islands, a potentially oil-rich archipelago in the South China Sea that both sides claim.

Relations were normalized in 1991, when both sides agreed to engage in a marathon border demarcation process.

Nice to see things are going along well again. i hope the entire SEA region takes this from china as a sign of peace. I wonder which ships the PLAN has sent to this excercise. More to follow?
 

petty officer1

Junior Member
Joint naval patrols, good for training.

But when the word "vietnam" came in, it just some thing fishy there... the Islands china and vietnam both want.

But whatever, You know, now day relationship is improved, so.

Not long time ago, I think last year Mr Hu have visited vietnam. He got a BIG, I meant BIG welcome from the vietnam government. and they are calling each other "brother and comrade".

Maybe the trading between the two country is the helper here.

:eek:ff any way, the joint patrol will be a good thing. :china:
 

Schumacher

Senior Member
Am pleasantly surprised by the achievements of Chinese & SEA diplomacy in the Spratly's.
Always thought it'd be tough to get any compromise. Philipines, Vietname & the Chinese started joint oil exploration last year & now this. Good stuffs.
 

KYli

Brigadier
中國海疆危機「三」伏

据香港文匯報記者王玨報道,近年來中國海域愈發不平靜:釣魚島「主權」爭議懸而未決;「春曉衝擊波」一浪高過一浪;南海鄰國不但持續強化海上管控、加快開採海洋資源,襲擊、抓扣槍擊中國漁民的事件更常有發生;甚至一向平靜的黃海也因豐富的大陸架石油,引來周邊相關國家的覬覦……面對這遠遠高於陸地的海洋風險,要想保護中國的疆土,加強海軍力量無疑是重要途徑之一。有外電稱,中國第一支航母艦隊將於兩年後建成。 權威人士指出,當前中國海洋安全形勢異常複雜與嚴峻,不僅島礁主權爭端、海洋油氣與漁業資源爭奪及海域劃界爭議等現有海上矛盾仍然存在,公海局勢更加惡化,且局部恐有衝突激化的危險。

 總體來說,局勢「南緩東緊」:本來非常尖銳的南海鬥爭因近幾年中國、菲律賓與越南達成共同開發和合作調查的協議,出現了相對紓緩的跡象;但在東海,由於日本政府惡劣的態度和行徑,情況正好相反。 外電:中國航母艦隊兩年建成



■專家倡增強軍力來保衛海疆。圖為中國海軍在進行軍演。

在今年兩會期間,解放軍高級將領曾向本報透露,中國正在組建航母艦隊。而據外電昨天(1日)的報道稱,中國海軍第一個航母艦隊將在兩年後建成,航母基地選在中國海南省亞龍灣附近。

 外電的相關報道是否屬實,目前無從求證。而中國正致力於加強海上防禦力量,打造一支滿足中國海防需要的強大海軍,卻是毋庸置疑的。

 據本港媒體日前引述新加坡東南亞研究所資深研究員邁克爾.理查森指出,中國迅速擴大的艦艇部隊是其「防範海上入侵」戰略的重要組成部分。北京正在建造四艘不同級別的潛艇,兩艘是核動力,兩艘是柴油動力。中國2002年向俄羅斯訂購了8艘先進的「基洛」636M常規潛艇,最後一艘將於今年交貨。

 有日本軍事分析人士稱,中國可能在未來幾年內部署類似可以攻擊海上移動船隻的彈道導彈的武器,自此具備「無可匹敵、前所未有的軍事能力」。海洋戰爭風險大於陸地

 解放軍海軍指揮學院一位專家指出,中國周邊安全存在的挑戰,海洋方向(即東、南方向)的形勢比陸地方向(即西、北方向)嚴峻,不僅存在台灣、南海、釣魚島和東海大陸架等事關中國主權和安全的問題,還存在影響區域形勢全局的朝鮮半島這一熱點問題。同時中國在該方向面臨的軍事威脅和戰爭風險大大高於陸地方向。同時,他指出,目前,中國的安全防衛能力與海洋方向安全形勢的嚴峻性不相稱,與主要安全對手之間的軍事實力差距較大。為有效地維護國家的主權、安全和領土完整,必須加大海洋防衛能力建設的力度。

中國瞄準深海大洋

據新華社電記者從日前舉行的中國大洋工作15年成果展上獲悉,中國科學家將進一步向深海大洋進軍,有關部門正醞釀加強深海考察能力。

 醞釀建設的國家深海基地,將「落戶」青島。深海基地將建成面向全國深海科學研究、海洋資源調查、深海裝備研發和試驗、海洋新興產業服務全面開放的國家平台。基地主要包括:深海勘查及其保障中心,深海裝備應用技術發展研究、試驗和信息中心,深海裝備模擬培訓中心,深海技術產業化轉化和作業服務中心,深海科學技術普及中心。

 深海基地初步規劃的土建總面積為26,500平方米,還將建設一個280延長米的工作母船碼頭和相應配套的試驗室。基地計劃在2015年建成。

 大洋工作離不開考察船。目前,中國科學家進入大洋進行考察,主要依靠「大洋一號」,建造「大洋二號」成了大洋人的心願。計劃中的「大洋二號」船的主要使命將是:承擔7,000米載人潛水器、6,000米自治水下機器人和大深度遙控潛水器海上試驗和勘查作業任務,承擔海底熱液硫化物、生物基因等深海多種資源勘查任務,承擔深海大型裝備海上試驗任務。這條考察船的排水量將達6,000噸,經濟航速15節,續航力15,000海里,定員75人。

各國強化海洋戰略保安全

 當今世界,海洋不僅成為各國聯繫的紐帶,同時也是重要的利益交織點。世界上200餘個國家中,152個沿海。近年來,沿海各國普遍重視海洋,試圖在新一輪國際海洋競爭當中搶佔先機,並紛紛調整自己的海洋發展戰略。

 為迎接新的國際海洋法帶來的新機遇和新挑戰,1997年加拿大出台了《海洋法》,制定了國家的發展戰略;1998年澳大利亞出台了《澳大利亞海洋政策》;美國1998年和2002年先後兩次召開全國海洋工作會議,並且成立了國家海洋政策委員會,2004年頒布了新的海洋政策和行動計劃,用於指導美國在新的世紀海洋工作;俄羅斯和印度等海洋大國,也制定了新的海洋政策。

 特別值得關注的是日本。日本在2005年底11月,制定了《21世紀日本海洋政策建議》,針對日本海洋監管機構不夠完善,提出了若干建議,其中包括明確以海洋立國為目標,設置由總理大臣組成的海洋內閣會議,增設一名直接對內閣會議負責的海洋大臣,以及籌劃設立海洋省和海洋廳等。

危機一:島嶼爭端 釣魚小島惡化雙邊

 據介紹,目前中國面臨的島嶼爭端是,一些島礁被周邊國家非法侵佔或者控制,主要涉及東海的釣魚島與南海諸島。

 自古是中國領土的釣魚島列嶼油氣及漁業資源豐富,且靠近中國大陸和台灣,在軍事上是中國的前哨。近年來日本不惜不斷惡化中日關係意欲染指釣魚島列嶼,目的不僅在於釣魚島的局部利益,更著眼於更大的戰略意義,企圖佔領後遏制大陸對台灣的控制。

 其次在南海海域,256個島礁中較大的50多個基本被越南(29個)菲律賓(8個)馬來西亞(5個)等周邊國家控制,中國只控制8個,包括台灣控制的太平島。這些周邊國家在政治、法律上尋找佔用依據的同時,還大力加強海上軍事力量的建設,以及進行機場建設、發展移民旅遊等非軍事化利用,進一步增加了解決難度。

危機二:海洋劃界 東海糾紛此代難解

 有關人士指,除渤海無劃界任務,中國其它三個海分別與8個國家,即朝鮮、韓國、日本、菲律賓、馬來西亞、文萊、越南和印度尼西亞有劃界爭端,爭議海域高達150多萬平方公里,佔主張管轄海域(共300萬平方公里)的52%。

首先黃海劃界,黃海總面積約38萬平方公里,涉及到中朝韓三國領海、專屬經濟區和大陸架。朝鮮主張利用海洋半分線和緯度等分線;韓國要求中間線原則劃界,而中國歷來主張公平劃界原則,即除考慮中間線外還有別的因素,如海岸線長度等。)

 南海劃界,南海總面積350萬平方公里,為中國最大海域。周邊國家主張的海峽區域分別侵入了中國的專屬經濟線,其中越南117萬平方公里,菲律賓62萬平方公里,馬來西亞17萬平方公里,文萊5萬平方公里,印尼3.5萬平方公里。迄今中國在南海海域劃定界限僅一條,即北部灣界限,中國與越南大致對半分。

 東海劃界。東海面積77萬平方公里,涉及中韓日三國。韓國根據自身利益主張不同原則,濟洲島以南要求自然延伸,向西又要求中間線原則;日本歷來頑固主張所謂的中間線原則,並且以釣魚島作為基點,單方面在中間劃了一條所謂的中間線,並開始對這條線採取實際控制;中國一直堅持自然延伸原則,主張在東海大陸架一直延伸到沖繩海槽中心線,

 中日所謂的爭議區達21萬平方公里,相當於三個渤海灣,目前兩國各不相讓。中日之間對於東海海域劃界將存在長期的爭端,一位中國官員曾感慨道:「我們這一代可能看不到劃界的結果。」

危機三:資源之爭 春曉油田恐釀衝突

 有關人士指出,中國擁有豐富的海洋資源,主要包括油氣資源與漁業資源,僅前者,大陸架中共存有450至400億噸的儲量。

 這些資源成為周邊國家激烈爭奪的目標。2003年南海周邊國家在中國傳統九段線內的海域開採油氣資源約4600萬噸,朝鮮等國也不斷爭取開採,涉外開採業務不斷頻繁。而在爭端中近期最值得關注、影響最大的,當屬日本針對春曉油田採取一系列的行動。在2004年7月7日,日本派出強大的團隊來到中國海域勘探,不僅租用先進的挪威船隻,還配備88條護衛船,中方也派出船隻應對,雙方對峙非常激烈;2005年7月14日,日本政府又宣佈授予帝國石油公司在該海域的勘探權,公然向中國挑釁,此外通過了《關於海洋結構物安全水域的法案》,以及申請約29億美元的經費用於更新巡邏艇與偵察機。

 「春曉油田」之爭可謂近期中日在海洋爭端乃至整個兩國關係上最嚴重的事件。有關人士呼籲,中日應該採取積極穩妥的應對措施,若處理不好,在這個海域有兩國恐有爆發激烈衝突的可能。

 為維護中國權益,中國海監總隊開展了對日東海油氣資源開發專項執法行動。據官方資料顯示,自2004年7月7日至2005年6月,針對日本政府單方面在中日爭議海區進行海底油氣資源調查這一做法,派出中國海監飛機146架次、中國海監船舶18批次,對日本海底油氣資源調查船隊實施了歷時12個月的跟蹤監視和監督管理,以表明中國政府對該海域主權權益的原則立場,顯示管轄的能力與決心。

A very good article about the SEA, and the pontential conflict and interest between all the involved nations.
 

KYli

Brigadier
南沙中國漁船遭槍擊7死傷
搶掠導航設備洗劫 不明外國船逃遁 2006年5月2日
廣 告

【明報專訊】4月27日下午,海南省瓊海市一艘漁船在中國南沙群島傳統漁場(東經116度40分,北緯10度31分)正常生產時,遭到一艘外國武裝船隻槍擊、搶劫,武裝分子用衝鋒槍狂掃中國漁船,導致4名漁民被打死,3名漁民受傷,漁船上的導航通訊設備、生產工具等財物被洗劫一空,不明國籍外國武裝船開槍洗劫後逃逸無蹤。據指出,這是近幾年來南沙群島海域發生的最惡劣一次中國漁民被打死打傷事件。農業部南海區漁政局啟動突發事件應急處理機制,開展救援、取證等工作。

《南方日報》引述倖存漁民回憶,瓊海03012號漁船在南沙海域南方淺灘一帶從事刺網作業,4月27日下午6時左右,該船停泊在北緯10度31分、東經116度40分時,一艘外國船隻在距漁船約200米時,派出一艘小艇靠近漁船。小艇上4人手拿水桶,中國漁民誤為該武裝船隻是向他們要淡水,就讓小艇靠過來。小艇上的4名外國武裝人員上漁船後,1人用手槍指嚇船上人員集中到船頭。

大海盲目航行 遇船幫助

中國漁民發現情不妙,準備開船離開,4外國人隨即開槍,外國船也全速向漁船靠近,一伙人用衝鋒槍向中國漁民瘋狂掃射,當場打死4人、打傷3人,其中2人重傷。此後,外國船上的13名人員強行登船進行洗劫,搶奪了導航設備、通訊設備、生產工具等。

因導航設備、通訊設備被搶,被襲擊的中國漁船只能在茫茫大海中盲目航行。幸好28日上午遇到其他漁船,才得到幫助,並向海南瓊海漁政部門報告了情。

國家農業部南海區漁政局4月28日上午接到報告後,立即啟動突發事件應急處理機制,另一方面命令正在南沙執行任務的中國漁政302船,立即趕到事發現場實施緊急救援,南海艦隊也派出軍醫前往。

南海漁政局趕現場施救

據報道,這是近幾年來南沙群島海域發生最惡劣一次中國漁民被打死打傷事件。國家農業部南海區漁政局已於4月28日啟動突發事件應急處理機制。前晚3名傷者已被送往三亞市。倖存者和4名遇難漁民的遺體也於昨日送到海南瓊海漁港。

An incident in south China sea, as some unknown attackers killed three Chinese and hurted four. They also took the equipments and communication items.
 

landlord

Just Hatched
Registered Member

Schumacher

Senior Member
Chinese 'soft power' at work. Bad news for proponents of 'China threat'.

BBC NEWS
Vietnam storm fishermen 'saved'
A Chinese ship has saved 97 Vietnamese fishermen whose boats were caught in the wake of Typhoon Chanchu but also found 18 bodies, state media reports.

China sent the Nanhaijiu 111 to the Dongsha Islands after Vietnam said 12 boats with 356 fishermen were at risk.

The Nanhaijiu made three fishing vessels seaworthy and is searching for more stricken ships and missing seamen, the Xinhua news agency said.

The typhoon has killed up to 100 as it swept from the Philippines to China.

Chanchu was the strongest typhoon on record to have hit the region during the month of May before being downgraded to a tropical storm.

It forced the evacuation of one million people in China.

Anxious relatives in Vietnam are awaiting news of fishermen still at sea but officials say communication difficulties have made it hard to determine how many are missing.

State-run TV in Vietnam quoted the Fisheries Ministry as saying more than 400 fishermen were missing from Danang city and the nearby provinces of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai.

It is unclear how the Chinese report tallies with this.

Super-typhoon

The Nanhaijiu 111 arrived at the Dongsha Islands, also known as the Pratas Islands, 300km (185 miles) south-west of Hong Kong, on Saturday morning.

It was able to provide fuel and provisions to make three fishing boats seaworthy, Xinhua said. Vietnamese officials have not managed to yet confirm the Xinhua report.

Chanchu, which means "pearl" in Cantonese, had packed winds of up to 240km/h (150mph), nudging the super-typhoon category.

Reports from Vietnam spoke of between 20 and 44 deaths of fishermen as of Friday.

Earlier this week, at least 37 people were killed by the typhoon in the Philippines.

Landslides, flooding and collapsing buildings killed 15 people in China's Fujian province, officials said.

Eight more people were killed in neighbouring Guangdong province and two in Taiwan.

May is very early in the typhoon season and an official with the Hong Kong Observatory said Chanchu was the "most intense" typhoon on record to strike in the South China Sea at this time of year.
Story from BBC NEWS:
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Published: 2006/05/20 15:10:48 GMT

© BBC MMVI
 

Player 0

Junior Member
Vietnam, like most Asian countries, are coming to terms with the fact that China is going to be the dominant economic force in Asia within a few years, gestures like this are a good way to attract trade and investment from the wealthy Chinese investors.
 

adeptitus

Captain
VIP Professional
Some years ago, overly-optimistic folks in China estimated petro reserves in South China Sea region to be at 100-200 billion barrels. It sparked off a lot of interest and competing territorial claims.

Moving forward, to date they still haven't find viable, proven oil reserves from exploratory drilling by the Spratly/Nan-shia islands. There has beem some small success in finding natural gas.

Last year, the 3 biggest players (China, Vietnam, & Philippines) agreed to put their competing interests aside and sign joint oil exploration accords, excluding the other minor players (Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia):

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China, Philippines, Vietnam Sign Joint South China Sea Oil Search Accord
2005.03.14

MANILA—China, the Philippines, and Vietnam have signed a landmark agreement to conduct a joint survey of possible oil deposits in areas they all claim in the South China Sea. Brunei, Taiwan, and Malaysia, which claim the same areas, didn’t have any immediate reaction.

China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), and Vietnam Oil and Gas Corp., also known as PetroVietnam, agreed to design seismic work programs over three years that cover an area of about 143,000 square kms (55,000 square miles).

<snip>

A U.S. Geological Survey in 1993-94 estimated discovered and undiscovered resources in the offshore basins of the South China Sea at 28 billion barrels, although only a portion of this would be economically recoverable.


I attended a conference earlier this year, where a speaker who used to work for oil company (but has switched to precious metals market) said that only 1 in 7 drillings find oil, and not all finds are even profitable due to high cost of drilling and recovery.

IMO if the PRC and Vietnam have agreed to maintain current LoC (Line of Control) like the PRC-India situation, then there's no point in continuing hostilities at this time. Joint patrols, like joint oil exploration, is one way to save $$ that can be used elsewhere.
 

SampanViking

The Capitalist
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It sounds as though the National Petroleum Companies of China, Vietnam and the Phillipines have formed a joint venture, so that they can all recieve an agreed share of any eventual profits from all extractions from all the Spratleys area.

This removes any territorial impediments from general diplomatic and economic development between these countries and could form a basis for an eventual resolution to the dispute in the East China Seas.
 
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