By WENDELL MINNICK
TAIPEI — Thucydides, the Greek historian who penned the story of the Peloponnesian War, wrote that “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”
The quote might be an appropriate description of what Vietnam is suffering after the placement of a Chinese mega oil rig off its coast this month.
On May 3, China announced that the China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) would conduct exploratory drilling operations from May 2 to Aug. 15, and denied allegations by Hanoi that the rig was within its exclusive economic zone.
The placement of a Chinese oil rig off the coast of Vietnam is part of China’s strategy of “slow intensity conflict,” said Andrew Scobell of the RAND Corp. China has gradually ratcheted up efforts since the 1970s to assert control of the South China Sea. The reasons include fishery resources, oil and gas deposits, and control of the sea lanes of communication.
Scobell, who coined the term, said slow intensity conflict differs from low intensity conflict in that conventional warfare between regular military units is possible, but these tend to be between small units involved in minor and infrequent fighting.
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