Thursday, July 31, 2008

Beijing threatens ExxonMobil over deal with Vietnam in South China Sea

Wednesday, July 30, 2008
World Tribune (USA)

China issued a sharp warning to the world’s largest corporation, ExxonMobil, over an oil deal with Vietnam. Hanoi has indirectly responded that its agreement is in force and will proceed.

A Hong Kong newspaper says Beijing’s diplomats have threatened retaliation if ExxonMobil goes ahead with a preliminary agreement with the Vietnamese state oil firm PetroVietnam. The deal covers exploitation in the South China Sea off Vietnam's south and central coasts, according to the Sunday Morning Post.

Beijing claims a huge swath of the South China Sea just east of the Indochina peninsula and west of the Philippines and has acted to control sea lanes and oil rights in the area with several military skirmishes. The most serious occurred in 1976, when China invaded and captured the Paracel Islands from Vietnam. In 1988, Chinese and Vietnamese navies clashed at Johnson Reef in the Spratly Islands, sinking several Vietnamese boats and killing more than 70 sailors.

The Hong Kong newspaper quoted unidentified sources saying Exxon Mobil was confident of Vietnam's sovereign rights to the blocks it was now seeking to explore. But it is clear that ExxonMobil could not dismiss China's warnings out of hand given the rapidly increasing Chinese market for crude oil and oil products.

The newspaper said China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to queries about the situation, and an Exxon Mobil spokesman refused comment. However, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung came back with the assertion “that Hanoi's dealings with foreign oil partners fell entirely within Vietnam's legal rights and sovereignty.”

Last year, Chinese media targeted an agreement between Vietnam and BP near the Spratlys maintaining that those islands had been an “indisputable part of Chinese territory since ancient times.” The Spratlys, like other island groups in the region, are uninhabited rocky outcroppings and coral but are in an area that may contain large oil and gas deposits.

The islands also lie directly across the major shipping route for oil from the Persian Gulf to markets in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

China is an ancient enemy of Hanoi dating back over centuries even though the two countries were allied after the Chinese Communists came to power in 1949. That lasted through the two Vietnam wars, one between the French and the Vietnamese and the other the U.S. engagement. But it fell apart in 1979 when the two countries fought a brief border war after Vietnam occupied Cambodia — another instance of an ancient and bitter rivalry — and overthrew the pariah Khmer Rouge regime, a staunch ally of Beijing.

China-Vietnam relations have since improved with the Vietnamese adopting what many call the post-Deng Xiaoping China model of development. On June 21, the Vietnamese Communist Party newspaper Nhan Dan reported Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh had successfully concluded an official visit to China at the invitation of the Chinese Party General Secretary and President Hu Jintao.

In fact, Vietnam and China have agreed to cooperate in oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Tonkin just off the northern Vietnamese major port of Haiphong. But still, last year BP halted plans to conduct exploration work off the southern Vietnamese coast, citing territorial tensions caused by Chinese claims. And in December, China chided Vietnam after protests in front of the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi proclaimed that the Spratly and Paracel islands belonged to the Vietnamese.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

China has been learning from the vietnames. How the vietnames invade and colonizied its neighbors, laos and cambodia. Now it's time for china to teach vietnam one chapter at time. If vietnam can colonize its neighbors, so can the chinese. If you look at cambodia and laos now there are so many chinese there. The chinese know if they let the vietnam government do this to its neighbor, it will be china big problem in the future when vietnam grow strog. So vietnam now is tasting it own medecine.

Anonymous said...

Dear camarade chinese
Dear camarade yuon

On behalf of Khmer prople, we encourage you to fight each other to death.
The winner takes it all!

Anonymous said...

The fight will not last very long comrade yuon will be crushed.

Anonymous said...

Now the fucking Vietnameses know how it feel. You tortured and killed Chams and Khmers and took their lands. Now it's your turn to loose! you fucking Youns/Viets.

I would not care less if Vietnam over ran by China tomorrow! I would enjoy my champagne and what you burns just like Vietnam war...USA may lost the war, but they burned the hell out of you.

I love to see Youns die,
KhmersNY

Anonymous said...

I don't really like the Chinese for their involvement during the Pol Pot era, but I rather have more Chinese instead of Viet in Cambodia. The Viet not only intend to colonize but distinct our race to expanse her territory, whereas the Chinese will help boost Cambodia's economy and help protect us from our neighbors. And, honestly I prefer 20% Chinese and 80% Khmer race in the kingdom.

Anonymous said...

I wish all yOUNs ARE DEAD by chines too. MO HAHAHAHA

Anonymous said...

Chinese and Viet they all same shit and trouble maker, but they are full occupied in Cambodia already.

Anonymous said...

Here is a list of famous Khmer with Sino-Khmer ancestry:

His Majesty King-Father Norodom Sihanouk, HM Norodom Sihamoni, Lon Nol, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Pol Pot, Hun Sen...

Anonymous said...

Stop blaming thai, chinese, or viet for meddling in our country but ourselves. We, khmer, are too passive and lacks of solidarity that's why we are being bullish. Sometimes I doubted if the khmer empire did exist or just a legend.

poor khmer

Anonymous said...

Thai king has Chinese bloodline and well revered by his people. The Chinese-Thai live well without discrimination amongst the native. Unlike the Thai, Khmer are more racist and jealous of sino-khmer's economic successes and merchant skills. And there no doubt that hybrid race is more intelligence than pure ones.

Anonymous said...

10:40AM
So, what are you going to do about it. Stop cry like a baby and do something. Khmer like to bark and eventually getting clop hard by others. khmer are self-absorbed and egocentric race, and, today, its mentality still cling to Angkor era. Wake up and stop blame-game for our false and weakness.

Xmer from 2050

Anonymous said...

4:20pm poor khmer! Jusy for your eyes only!
khmer empire did not exist, it make legent by your stupid grand parents only!

Now you have knowledge you may become rich some day!

Anonymous said...

5:26PM we just want thr thrue fool! Are you go along with your wife?