Vietnamese (left) & Chinese (right) Coast Guard Ships |
By Ankit Panda
A new Vietnamese regulation will allow its coast guard to use weapons to deter and repel ships.
Starting October 20, 2015, Vietnamese coast guard vessels will be permitted to use on-board weapons to deter and repel foreign boats. According to a report by Vietnam’s Thanh Nien news agency, the country’s government has introduced a new regulation which allows the coast guard to play a more active role in defense. The move is almost certainly a response to concerns about China’s attempts at asserting its claims to waters disputed between it and Vietnam, best encapsulated in last summer’s stand-off over China’s Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig, which entered Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Chinese and Vietnamese vessels rammed and capsized each other at the time, and vessels from both sides exchanged water cannon fire.
The new rules could mean that should another major stand-off between China and Vietnam occur, the possibility of escalation to an all-out kinetic conflict will be much greater. Vietnam’s move also mirror’s China’s own efforts to create a “second navy” through the militarization of its white-hulled maritime law enforcement and coast guard vessels. According to Thanh Nien, the Vietnamese coast guard will be permitted to use force “until the foreign boats are completely out of Vietnamese waters.” Vietnam continues to claim the entirety of the Paracel Islands, which China administers as part of Hainan province.
Read the full story at The Diplomat