By Shannon Tiezzi
China is becoming more active in refuting Vietnam’s portrayal of the oil rig crisis.
It’s been over a month since a Chinese oil rig began drilling in waters Vietnam claims as part of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The move sparked naval clashes and violent anti-China protests, and the crisis shows no signs of abating. On the contrary, both Vietnam and China are increasingly turning abroad to support their conflicting narratives.
Vietnam has been seeking outside support since the very beginning, as evidenced by its strategy of filming naval confrontations with Chinese vessels and releasing the footage. Vietnamese leaders, all the way up to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, have explicitly called on the international community “to continue strongly demanding China” stop its violations of international maritime law.
For nearly a month, China was content to rebut Vietnam’s accusations in regular press conferences and Chinese media articles. However, China is increasingly ramping up its own efforts to win the war for international opinion. China’s Foreign Ministry released a lengthy document outlining China’s claims to the Paracel Islands and cataloging Vietnamese provocations. In addition, as Zach noted, China asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to circulate the document in the UN General Assembly. That may have been a direct response to Vietnam’s own efforts to reach out to the UN through a diplomatic note.
Read the full story at The Diplomat