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Showing posts with label Phu Quoc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phu Quoc. Show all posts
Friday, June 17, 2011
Sunday, January 18, 2009
A Brief History of Koh Tral
Dear Readers,
The history of Koh Tral island has been a mystery to many Khmer people and the loss of this island to Vietnam has been a painful memory for all Khmers.
Koh Tral was a Cambodian island, and technically and legally, remained a Cambodian island until today, except the physical administration of it. The misinterpretation of the Brevie Line, called "Ligne Brevie" in French, led to the transfer of administration, and eventually the ownership, of Koh Tral to Vietnam. In 1939, Mr. Brevie, a French colonial officer, was commissioned to draw an administrative line between the Cambodian and Cochinchina's (Kampuchea Krom) maritime borders. As Mr. Brevie's letter below shows, the drawing of the "Ligne Brevie" was for administration purposes only, and not for the delimitation of the borderlines. Mr. Brevie's letter, published below, stated: "The powers of administration and police on these islands will be clearly divided between Cochinchina and Cambodia in order to avoid any disputes in the future. It is understood that this is only the administration and police, and that the issue of territorial dependence of these islands remains fully booked."
The meaning of Mr. Brevie's letter "the issue of territorial dependence of these islands remains fully booked" suggested that the territorial dependence of these islands remains fully in the hands of Cambodia as these islands were historically under the administration of Cambodia for generations. Thus, Koh Tral is unquestionably a Cambodian island. Please read facts below and conclude it for yourself. Khmerization.
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(The letter below is translated by Google Translate Tool. The original French text can be found here).
Hanoi, 31 January 1939
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
GOVERNOR GENERAL POLICIES OF INDOCHINA
No. 367-API Grand Officier de la Legion d'Honneur
to
The Governor of Cochinchina
Saigon
SUBJECT: Islands in the Gulf of Siam
I have the honor to inform you that I have to re-examine the issue of islands in the Gulf of Siam whose possession is disputed between Cambodia and Cochin.
The location of this string of islands, de-seeded along the Cambodian coast and some of which are so close to the coast that atterrissements which currently seem to be welded to the shores of Cambodia in the relatively near future, calls logically geographically and the need for these islands, a matter for the Administration of that country.
If I am not allowed to continue much longer the state of affairs requires that the inhabitants of these islands to address, or the price of a long voyage, is the price of a long detour through the territory of Cambodia, the administration of Cochinchina. Accordingly, I have decided that all the islands north of a line perpendicular to the coast from the border between Cambodia and Cochinchina and forming an angle with 140'c northern Meridien, according to the map attached, will be administered by Cambodia. The protectorate assume, in particular, the burden of policing of these islands.
All the islands south of this line, including the island of Phu Quoc, (called Koh Tral in Cambodian) continue to be administered by Cochinchina. It is understood that the line set by the bypass north of the island of Phu Quoc (Koh Tral) passing 3 kms from the extremes of the north coast of this island.
The powers of administration and police on these islands will be clearly divided between Cochinchina and Cambodia in order to avoid any disputes in the future.
It is understood that this is only the administration and police, and that the issue of territorial dependence of these islands remains fully booked.
You'd like to make arrangements so that my decision to receive its immediate implementation.
Please accused received the letter.
Signed: BREVIE
------------------------------------------------------------
The facts about Koh Tral below are taken out of CARAWEB website.
Click here for Map of Koh Tral
The history of Koh Tral island has been a mystery to many Khmer people and the loss of this island to Vietnam has been a painful memory for all Khmers.
Koh Tral was a Cambodian island, and technically and legally, remained a Cambodian island until today, except the physical administration of it. The misinterpretation of the Brevie Line, called "Ligne Brevie" in French, led to the transfer of administration, and eventually the ownership, of Koh Tral to Vietnam. In 1939, Mr. Brevie, a French colonial officer, was commissioned to draw an administrative line between the Cambodian and Cochinchina's (Kampuchea Krom) maritime borders. As Mr. Brevie's letter below shows, the drawing of the "Ligne Brevie" was for administration purposes only, and not for the delimitation of the borderlines. Mr. Brevie's letter, published below, stated: "The powers of administration and police on these islands will be clearly divided between Cochinchina and Cambodia in order to avoid any disputes in the future. It is understood that this is only the administration and police, and that the issue of territorial dependence of these islands remains fully booked."
The meaning of Mr. Brevie's letter "the issue of territorial dependence of these islands remains fully booked" suggested that the territorial dependence of these islands remains fully in the hands of Cambodia as these islands were historically under the administration of Cambodia for generations. Thus, Koh Tral is unquestionably a Cambodian island. Please read facts below and conclude it for yourself. Khmerization.
----------------------------------
(The letter below is translated by Google Translate Tool. The original French text can be found here).
Hanoi, 31 January 1939
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
GOVERNOR GENERAL POLICIES OF INDOCHINA
No. 367-API Grand Officier de la Legion d'Honneur
to
The Governor of Cochinchina
Saigon
SUBJECT: Islands in the Gulf of Siam
I have the honor to inform you that I have to re-examine the issue of islands in the Gulf of Siam whose possession is disputed between Cambodia and Cochin.
The location of this string of islands, de-seeded along the Cambodian coast and some of which are so close to the coast that atterrissements which currently seem to be welded to the shores of Cambodia in the relatively near future, calls logically geographically and the need for these islands, a matter for the Administration of that country.
If I am not allowed to continue much longer the state of affairs requires that the inhabitants of these islands to address, or the price of a long voyage, is the price of a long detour through the territory of Cambodia, the administration of Cochinchina. Accordingly, I have decided that all the islands north of a line perpendicular to the coast from the border between Cambodia and Cochinchina and forming an angle with 140'c northern Meridien, according to the map attached, will be administered by Cambodia. The protectorate assume, in particular, the burden of policing of these islands.
All the islands south of this line, including the island of Phu Quoc, (called Koh Tral in Cambodian) continue to be administered by Cochinchina. It is understood that the line set by the bypass north of the island of Phu Quoc (Koh Tral) passing 3 kms from the extremes of the north coast of this island.
The powers of administration and police on these islands will be clearly divided between Cochinchina and Cambodia in order to avoid any disputes in the future.
It is understood that this is only the administration and police, and that the issue of territorial dependence of these islands remains fully booked.
You'd like to make arrangements so that my decision to receive its immediate implementation.
Please accused received the letter.
Signed: BREVIE
------------------------------------------------------------
The facts about Koh Tral below are taken out of CARAWEB website.
Click here for Map of Koh Tral
A note by H.E. Dr. Say Bory
August 16, 2000
The Vietnamese had given this island a Vietnamese name: Phu Quoc
Historical Benchmarks:
# 1856: King Ang Duong apprise Mr. de Montigny, French envoy in visit to Bangkok, through the intermediary of Bishop Miche, his intention to yield Koh Tral to France (cf. “The Second [French] Empire of IndoChina”).
# 1863: Establishing the Protectorate of Cambodia, France annexed Kampuchea Krom, made a French colony out of it, and named it “Cochinchine”.
# May 25, 1874: Koh Tral (Phu Quoc) which belonged to Cambodia (under the reign of King Ang Duong) was placed under the administration of the Governor of Cochinchine, i.e. under the administration of France, by the French Protectorate.
# June 16, 1875: Koh Tral is attached to the inspection district of Hatien which was colonized by France. One needs to recall that in 1855, King Ang Duong reminded Napoleon III [first French President (1948-1852), later French Emperor (1852-1870)] that “the territories annexed by Vietnam located between the Western branch of the Mekong [River] and the Gulf of Siam (Hatien area) were “actually Cambodian land” (cf. A. Dolphin-Dauphin-Meunier – “History of Cambodia”, pg. 99). Therefore, Koh Tral always remains a Cambodian island, even though it is under the administration of colonial France.
# January 31, 1939: the “Brévié Line” which is not a maritime border demarcation, but rather a line dividing the police and administrative authority “on the islands along the Gulf of Siam” [was established]. By this act, Koh Tral was placed, as it did in 1875, under the French colonial administration of Cochinchine. Brévié himself specified that “the territorial dependence of these islands (including that of Phu Quoc) remains entirely reserved”.
# June 04, 1949: In spite of Cambodian protests and the Deferre Motion [the Deferre Motion has been part of the Bill of Transfer of French Cochinchine to Vietnam which spelled out specific rights of the Khmer Krom people], France voted a law allowing the attachment of the Cochinchine territory (Khmer territory) to Vietnam.
# April 24, 1954: at the Geneva Conference, Cambodia still continued to protest against the unjust and uneven transfer of her Cochinchine lands to Vietnam by France, and reserved her right to litigate the case at the United Nations.
# June 07, 1957: Norodom Sihanouk, President of the Council of Ministers, requested in a letter to Lon Nol, then National Defense Minister, to ensure the protection of all islands located along the Gulf of Siam (thus also including Koh Tral), and in particular, the group of islands of Poulo-Pangjang (Khmer name: Koh Krachak Ses; Vietnamese name: Tho Chu), Koh PouloWai (Khmer name: Koh Ach Ses) and Koh Tang.
# December 30, 1957: In his Kret regarding the delimitation of the Cambodian continental shelf, King Norodom Suramarit clearly reaffirmed that Cambodia reserved her retention on her historical rights to Koh Tral (cf. Article 6 of the Kret).
# 1963: In the book “Cambodia Geography” published in 1963 by Tan Kim Huon, a Khmer scholar who was also an agricultural engineer and forestry expert, [he indicated that] Koh Tral is indeed a Cambodian island (cf. maps no. 3, 12, and 19).
# 1969: Koh Tral (Phu Quoc) is included in the official list of Cambodian islands published by the Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry, and was numbered 61 (on a total of 64 islands).
# July 01, 1972: Following the July 1, 1972 Kret, the Khmer Republic Government maintains its reaffirmation of its sovereignty on its continental shelf and warns oil companies against [potential] consequences of any of their actions undertaken in this zone. Koh Tral still remains Cambodian.
# 1975 to End of 1978: Status quo.
# July 07, 1982: Koh Tral (Phu Quoc) and Poulo-Pangjang (Tho Chu) appear in the Vietnamese territory, on a map attached to the “Treaty on the Historical Water Zone between the Popular Republic of Kampuchea and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”.
# Therefore, Vietnam annexes 30,000 sq. km. of Khmer maritime territory, and it creates the “historical sea” extending 10,000 sq. km. off of Koh Tral (cf. Cambodia: Oil Research, Continental Shelf - Mr. Sean Pengse, April 1995).
Conclusion:
Based on the facts cited above, a self-conclusion is obvious.
Notes:
1. Several of the Krets referred above are available at: http://www.cfcambodge.org/Anglais/CadreA.htm
2. A map showing the Brevie Line is attached below. It was adapted from a map published on the CBC.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
UFO explodes over island
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
By STAFF REPORTER The Sun (UK)
By STAFF REPORTER The Sun (UK)
A UFO has EXPLODED in mid-air over a southern Vietnamese island, according to reports.
Villagers say they heard a loud blast yesterday and later found shards of metal near the island's coastline.
The sensational revelations come one day after neighbouring Cambodia's air force retracted a report of a mysterious plane crash.
The Vietnam News Agency said residents of Phu Quoc island, six miles off the coast of the Cambodian province of Kampot, found shards of grey metal, including one 1.5 metres long.
Wreckage
"The explosion happened at about five miles above the ground, and perhaps it was a plane, but authorities could not identify whether it was a civil or military aircraft," the VNA claimed.
The official state news agency added that soldiers were sent out to look for the wreckage and survivors, and local authorities contacted airlines in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, but received no reports of missing aircraft.
Villagers in Kampot also said they heard a loud explosion yesterday and today found small chunks of metal near their coast.
Kung Mony, deputy commander of Cambodia's Air Force, yesterday said he had been told of a foreign plane crashing in Kampot province, but later backed off his claims of an aircraft accident.
Villagers say they heard a loud blast yesterday and later found shards of metal near the island's coastline.
The sensational revelations come one day after neighbouring Cambodia's air force retracted a report of a mysterious plane crash.
The Vietnam News Agency said residents of Phu Quoc island, six miles off the coast of the Cambodian province of Kampot, found shards of grey metal, including one 1.5 metres long.
Wreckage
"The explosion happened at about five miles above the ground, and perhaps it was a plane, but authorities could not identify whether it was a civil or military aircraft," the VNA claimed.
The official state news agency added that soldiers were sent out to look for the wreckage and survivors, and local authorities contacted airlines in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, but received no reports of missing aircraft.
Villagers in Kampot also said they heard a loud explosion yesterday and today found small chunks of metal near their coast.
Kung Mony, deputy commander of Cambodia's Air Force, yesterday said he had been told of a foreign plane crashing in Kampot province, but later backed off his claims of an aircraft accident.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Koh Tral real owners are becoming the slaves while the aggressors become the new owners
Discussion on the ownership of the island taken away by Vietnam
The Free Press Magazine
Vol. 1, No. 2
January 2008
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
On the busy island which looks like a modern city, no more than 10 families of Cambodian-origin people are living there. Their lives are likened to those of slaves, they do not own lands, have no land titles to survive, unlike the Vietnamese people who settled on the Khmer Koh Tral Island, dubbed Phu Quoc by the Vietnamese.
61-year-old Ly Kim Chin and his family live in a miserable hut next to the beach on the southern side of Koh Tral Island. His livelihood and that his 63-year-old wife, Chau Thi Linh, depends on his fishing labor job, and construction work for a group of rich group of Vietnamese people and businessmen.
60-year-old Chau Si Dorn indicated that he was born and always lived on Koh Tral Island, but he claimed that he does not own lands to grow crops like the Vietnamese people: “I live in a hut along the beach for almost 60-year already, but I don’t own land and I don’t have a steady job besides working as a laborer for the Vietnamese.”
Cambodian people living on the island said that the Vietnamese people who lived there became rich and owned hotels, guesthouses, boats, motorboats, large ships, and they collect incomes from fishing, tourism, and Casinos.
Currently, Koh Tral (Phu Quoc) has a seaport, an airport, and the Duong Dong city was also established here.
A Vietnamese teacher, who provides tourism training in hotels and boat stewardship on the island, told The Free Press Magazine (FPM) that this island is located about 15-km from Kampot province, and 45-km from Ha Tien province (Peam province in Khmer), Vietnam, and about 120-km from Rach Gia (Kramuon Sar in Khmer) port, Vietnam. She added that Koh Tral is currently a district of Kien Giang province, Vietnam (Kramuon Sar province in Khmer).
Cambodian fishermen living along the seas said that Cambodian people not holding the Vietnamese citizenship are prohibited from entering Koh Tral, and they are required to obtain a visa to visit the island.
An anonymous Cambodian navy soldier based in the Cambodian seas in Kampot province, revealed that if someone owns a CPP party membership card, then he/she is allowed to visit the island by Vietnamese border patrol and immigration officers, and that person does not need any visa.
Ly Kim Chin said that Koh Tral Island is really a Cambodian island, he said that several generations of Cambodians living there have passed down this information to their offspring. Originally, there were only 4 to 5 Cambodian families living there, however, starting from the 17th century, a flow of Vietnamese settlers came to occupy the island. “From what I know, Koh Tral is a Cambodian island, but the French gave this Cambodian island to Vietnam in 1939.”
Lawyer Touch Bora from Sydney, Australia, wrote that, in spite of the fact that France gave this island to Vietnam, the sovereignty of the island by Cambodia is not lost yet. He recognized that the Vietnamese people came to settle on this island in the past centuries, however, past Cambodian kings have claimed the ownership of this island, as well as several other territories occupied by Vietnam by force, from one generation to the next.
Touch Bora added that, since the mid-19th century, i.e. starting from 1856, King Ang Duong demanded these lands and island back to Cambodia, and this action continued all the way to his great-grandson, King Norodom Sihanouk.
Sean Pengse, President of the Cambodia’s Border Committee and former Mining, Industry and Energy Minister, indicated that the 01 July 1972 decree issued by Marshall Lon Nol’s Khmer Republic regime claimed anew the sovereignty of Koh Tral Island as being Cambodian territories.
Prince Sisowath Thomico, the former secretary of the king, used to say that, based on recent Cambodian historical documents, Koh Tral was lost in 1982, following the border treaty concluded between Hun Sen, then-foreign minister of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea regime, and Nguyen Co Thach, the Democratic Vietnam minister. The prince was threatened with a lawsuit by the Hun Sen’s regime for expressing this opinion.
The Free Press Magazine
Vol. 1, No. 2
January 2008
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
On the busy island which looks like a modern city, no more than 10 families of Cambodian-origin people are living there. Their lives are likened to those of slaves, they do not own lands, have no land titles to survive, unlike the Vietnamese people who settled on the Khmer Koh Tral Island, dubbed Phu Quoc by the Vietnamese.
61-year-old Ly Kim Chin and his family live in a miserable hut next to the beach on the southern side of Koh Tral Island. His livelihood and that his 63-year-old wife, Chau Thi Linh, depends on his fishing labor job, and construction work for a group of rich group of Vietnamese people and businessmen.
60-year-old Chau Si Dorn indicated that he was born and always lived on Koh Tral Island, but he claimed that he does not own lands to grow crops like the Vietnamese people: “I live in a hut along the beach for almost 60-year already, but I don’t own land and I don’t have a steady job besides working as a laborer for the Vietnamese.”
Cambodian people living on the island said that the Vietnamese people who lived there became rich and owned hotels, guesthouses, boats, motorboats, large ships, and they collect incomes from fishing, tourism, and Casinos.
Currently, Koh Tral (Phu Quoc) has a seaport, an airport, and the Duong Dong city was also established here.
A Vietnamese teacher, who provides tourism training in hotels and boat stewardship on the island, told The Free Press Magazine (FPM) that this island is located about 15-km from Kampot province, and 45-km from Ha Tien province (Peam province in Khmer), Vietnam, and about 120-km from Rach Gia (Kramuon Sar in Khmer) port, Vietnam. She added that Koh Tral is currently a district of Kien Giang province, Vietnam (Kramuon Sar province in Khmer).
Cambodian fishermen living along the seas said that Cambodian people not holding the Vietnamese citizenship are prohibited from entering Koh Tral, and they are required to obtain a visa to visit the island.
An anonymous Cambodian navy soldier based in the Cambodian seas in Kampot province, revealed that if someone owns a CPP party membership card, then he/she is allowed to visit the island by Vietnamese border patrol and immigration officers, and that person does not need any visa.
Ly Kim Chin said that Koh Tral Island is really a Cambodian island, he said that several generations of Cambodians living there have passed down this information to their offspring. Originally, there were only 4 to 5 Cambodian families living there, however, starting from the 17th century, a flow of Vietnamese settlers came to occupy the island. “From what I know, Koh Tral is a Cambodian island, but the French gave this Cambodian island to Vietnam in 1939.”
Lawyer Touch Bora from Sydney, Australia, wrote that, in spite of the fact that France gave this island to Vietnam, the sovereignty of the island by Cambodia is not lost yet. He recognized that the Vietnamese people came to settle on this island in the past centuries, however, past Cambodian kings have claimed the ownership of this island, as well as several other territories occupied by Vietnam by force, from one generation to the next.
Touch Bora added that, since the mid-19th century, i.e. starting from 1856, King Ang Duong demanded these lands and island back to Cambodia, and this action continued all the way to his great-grandson, King Norodom Sihanouk.
Sean Pengse, President of the Cambodia’s Border Committee and former Mining, Industry and Energy Minister, indicated that the 01 July 1972 decree issued by Marshall Lon Nol’s Khmer Republic regime claimed anew the sovereignty of Koh Tral Island as being Cambodian territories.
Prince Sisowath Thomico, the former secretary of the king, used to say that, based on recent Cambodian historical documents, Koh Tral was lost in 1982, following the border treaty concluded between Hun Sen, then-foreign minister of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea regime, and Nguyen Co Thach, the Democratic Vietnam minister. The prince was threatened with a lawsuit by the Hun Sen’s regime for expressing this opinion.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Navy sent to guard the secret oil fields ... they should be sent to guard Cambodia's Koh Tral also
Cambodia to expand navy in gulf to guard oil fields
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian Ministry of National Defense is planning to significantly expand the Royal Cambodian Navy's presence in the Gulf of Thailand to provide security for companies searching for and extracting oil, local media said on Friday.
The navy will triple its size and increase patrols to defend Cambodia's offshore oil fields and maritime integrity, Minister of Defense Tea Banh was quoted by English-language newspaper the Cambodian Daily as saying.
He declined to comment further on the plan, which has not been officially approved.
The details of the naval expansion will be decided next month at a Ministry of Defense seminar, the paper quoted another source as saying.
The seminar will be co-sponsored by the Germany-based Friedrich Naumann Foundation, said lawmaker Yim Sovann, chairman of the National Assembly commission on national defense.
"We need to post patrols along the coast in order to provide security to oil exploration companies. We want to protect the property of investors from terrorism," he added.
Along the southwestern coast of the kingdom, several companies from the United States, South Korea and Cambodia itself have been searching for oil in the past years. The concerned sides have confirmed rich reservation of oil and natural gas and production is expected to start in 2008.
The navy will triple its size and increase patrols to defend Cambodia's offshore oil fields and maritime integrity, Minister of Defense Tea Banh was quoted by English-language newspaper the Cambodian Daily as saying.
He declined to comment further on the plan, which has not been officially approved.
The details of the naval expansion will be decided next month at a Ministry of Defense seminar, the paper quoted another source as saying.
The seminar will be co-sponsored by the Germany-based Friedrich Naumann Foundation, said lawmaker Yim Sovann, chairman of the National Assembly commission on national defense.
"We need to post patrols along the coast in order to provide security to oil exploration companies. We want to protect the property of investors from terrorism," he added.
Along the southwestern coast of the kingdom, several companies from the United States, South Korea and Cambodia itself have been searching for oil in the past years. The concerned sides have confirmed rich reservation of oil and natural gas and production is expected to start in 2008.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
If VN can claim the ownership of the Spratly Islands, why can't Cambodia claim the ownership of Koh Tral Island (Phu Quoc island)?
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
‘Vietnam objecting to gas pipeline plan’
Reuters
‘Vietnam objecting to gas pipeline plan’
Reuters
BEIJING: Vietnam is stiring up trouble by agreeing with BP and its partners to build a gas pipeline in the South China Sea, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday of an area disputed by Hanoi and Beijing.
The Spratly Islands, a string of rocky outcrops suspected of containing large oil and gas deposits, are also claimed by Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The $2 billion pipeline will bring gas from two new fields to Vietnam’s south coast, though details are still being worked out.
“China has irrefutable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and neighbouring marine areas,” spokesman Qin Gang told a news conference. “With everyone’s hard work, at present the situation in the South China Sea is stable.
“Vietnam’s series of new actions infringing on China’s sovereignty, sovereign power and administrative rights in the Spratly Islands, goes against the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries on the maritime issue,” he added.
Qin had been asked by a reporter from China’s state-run media to comment on the pipeline scheme, and about Vietnam’s plan to hold local elections on the islands.
“It is not beneficial to stability in the South China Sea area. The Chinese side is paying close attention and we have already made serious representations to the Vietnamese side,” Qin said.
Vietnam has traditionally been wary of its larger Asian neighbour and in 1979 the two countries fought a brief border war after Vietnam occupied Cambodia and overthrew the murderous Khmer Rouge regime backed by Beijing.
Beijing and Hanoi normalised relations in 1991.
In 1988, China and Vietnam fought a brief naval battle near one of the Spratly Island reefs in which more than 70 Vietnamese sailors died. But tensions have eased considerably in recent years as relations improve.
The Spratly Islands, a string of rocky outcrops suspected of containing large oil and gas deposits, are also claimed by Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The $2 billion pipeline will bring gas from two new fields to Vietnam’s south coast, though details are still being worked out.
“China has irrefutable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and neighbouring marine areas,” spokesman Qin Gang told a news conference. “With everyone’s hard work, at present the situation in the South China Sea is stable.
“Vietnam’s series of new actions infringing on China’s sovereignty, sovereign power and administrative rights in the Spratly Islands, goes against the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries on the maritime issue,” he added.
Qin had been asked by a reporter from China’s state-run media to comment on the pipeline scheme, and about Vietnam’s plan to hold local elections on the islands.
“It is not beneficial to stability in the South China Sea area. The Chinese side is paying close attention and we have already made serious representations to the Vietnamese side,” Qin said.
Vietnam has traditionally been wary of its larger Asian neighbour and in 1979 the two countries fought a brief border war after Vietnam occupied Cambodia and overthrew the murderous Khmer Rouge regime backed by Beijing.
Beijing and Hanoi normalised relations in 1991.
In 1988, China and Vietnam fought a brief naval battle near one of the Spratly Island reefs in which more than 70 Vietnamese sailors died. But tensions have eased considerably in recent years as relations improve.
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