China hopes to avoid Spratlys conflict
China hopes to avoid Spratlys conflict
BEIJING (AFP): China has no wish to spark an incident in the disputed Spratly islands but will honor its contract with a US company to explore for oil there despite Vietnamese protests, the foreign ministry said yesterday.
"The Chinese government has all along stood for a peaceful settlement of the Nansha (Chinese name for Spratlys) issue and we do not wish to see the occurrence of any incident that might complicate the matter," a ministry spokesman said.
The Spratlys are claimed wholly or in part by China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan. The crux of the dispute centers on what are believed to be large oil and natural gas deposits in the area.
Hanoi has reacted strongly to what it described as the "illegal" contract signed by China and Colorado-based Crestone Energy, warning that the deal marked a "serious escalation of the situation in the South China Sea."
Crestone had announced that it would sink exploratory wells under the protection of the Chinese navy, which has recently stepped up operations around the Spratlys.
The spokesman, reaffirming China's claim to the island chain, said the contract was perfectly legal.
"China has undisputed sovereignty over the Nansha islands and adjacent waters," he said.
"The signing of the contract with the American company entirely falls within China's sovereignty," he added.
The war of words between Beijing and Hanoi continued Monday when the Vietnamese communist party daily, Nhan Dan, evoked the spirit of Dien Bien Phu -- the site of Vietnam's decisive victory over France in 1954 -- in a front page article on the Spratlys.
"During these days of April, the people and troops of the district of Truong Sa (Vietnamese name for Spratlys) are lighting the historic flame of Dien Bien Phu in this sacred part of the country," the newspaper said.