Biden met on Thursday with Fang Fenghui, the military's general chief of staff. The White House says Biden told Fang the US was seriously concerned about China's unilateral actions.
Biden told Fang the US doesn't take a side in the territorial confrontation between the two countries over an area in the South China Sea. That's where China has triggered protests in Vietnam by deploying an oil rig in the long-disputed seas. One person has been killed, a Chinese worker in Vietnam.
But Biden says no nation should take provocative steps in the conflict that undermine stability and peace.
[timesofindia.indiatimes.com]
16/5/14
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Chinese flee riots in Vietnam for Cambodia
China: Vietnam has infringed on China’s sovereignty
China-Vietnam tensions: Beijing vows to continue drilling...
- China blames Vietnam, says will not cede inch of disputed territory....
(Reuters) - A top Chinese general on Thursday defended the deployment of an oil rig that has inflamed tensions in the disputed South China Sea and triggered deadly protests in Vietnam, blaming Hanoi and saying China cannot afford to "lose an inch" of territory.
General Fang Fenghui also pointed blame at U.S. President Barack Obama's strategic "pivot" to Asia as Vietnam and China grapple with one of the worst breakdowns in relations since the neighbors fought a brief border war in 1979.
Anti-China riots in Vietnam erupted after China's towing of an oil rig into waters claimed by both countries. Up to 21 people have been killed and a huge foreign steel project has been set ablaze.
Fang said some Asian nations had seized on Obama's vows to rebalance military and diplomatic assets to Asia as an opportunity to create trouble in the South and East China Seas.
Fang, chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, said in Washington that the oil-drilling rig was operating in China's territorial waters, activity he vowed to protect.
- A U.S. official said Vice President Joe Biden told the visiting Chinese army chief that Beijing's actions in the maritime disputes were "dangerous and provocative.
- Standing at the Pentagon alongside the top U.S. military officer, General Martin Dempsey, Fang said Vietnam was at fault for stirring up trouble by dispatching ships in an attempt to "disrupt" Chinese drilling activity.
"I think it's quite clear ... who is conducting normal activity and who is disrupting it," Fang said, speaking through an interpreter...................http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/15/us-vietnam-china-usa-idUSBREA4E0TR20140515?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
16/5/15
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Amid riots, China blames Vietnam over disputed territory rift....
ReplyDeleteA top Chinese general defended Thursday the deployment of an oil rig in disputed waters of the South China Sea, which has set off deadly protests in Vietnam. The general said Hanoi was to blame, and that China must not “lose an inch” of territory.
The oil rig, placed on May 2 in the middle of an area of the South China Sea disputed with Hanoi, has set off anti-China riots in Vietnam in recent days. As many as 21 people have died and 100 others have been injured in attacks on factories thought to have Chinese owners.
Visiting Washington, General Fang Fenghui also blamed the Obama administration’s “pivot” to Asia as a reason for heightened tensions in the region. He said some Asian nations have used the strategic shift to create mischief in the South and East China Seas.
US Vice President Joe Biden told Fang that Beijing’s actions in the disputes are “dangerous and provocative,” Reuters reported.
Fang, chief of general staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, said the controversial oil rig is in China’s territorial waters near the Paracel Islands, adding that Beijing will protect its holdings.
Speaking alongside the top US military officer, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey, Fang said that Vietnam started trouble by sending ships to “disrupt” Chinese drilling operations.
"I think it's quite clear...who is conducting normal activity and who is disrupting it," Fang said, according to Reuters.
As China’s military actions have become increasingly bold in the region, Vietnam has sought new military relationships in recent years, including with both Russia and the United States.
China has several disputes in South China Sea, which is rich in oil and gas resources. In addition to Vietnam, China faces rival territorial claims from Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines, which recently gave the US more access to naval bases near the disputed Spratly Islands...........................http://rt.com/news/159316-china-vietnam-territory-riots/
16/5/14
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has told a top Chinese military official that Beijing's actions the South China Sea are dangerous and provocative....
ReplyDeleteBiden met in Washington Thursday with the Chinese military's chief of staff, General Fang Fenghui.
Biden told Fang that China cannot undermine security and peace.
China deployed an oil rig last month in a part of the South China Sea that Vietnam claims is within its exclusive economic zone.
The dispute has led to anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam, including a riot at Taiwanese steel plant that killed a Chinese worker and injured 149 other people.
Chinese and Vietnamese ships have attacked each other with water cannons, raising fears of an all-out military clash.
http://www.voanews.com/content/biden-tells-chinese-general-to-stop-dangerous-actions-in-disputed-territory/1915735.html
16/5/14