By Chau Bao Nguyen
A look at Beijing’s motivations and Hanoi’s options.
The redeployment of a Chinese oil rig in the South China Sea (SCS) shows an inconsistency in the rhetoric and practice of China’s policy in the disputed waters. Together with its mass land reclamation activities, these actions are part and parcel of coercive diplomacy. It affirms China’s territorial ambition in the highly strategic sea. But is it likely to escalate into regional conflict?
China’s Haiyang Shiyou 981 (HD-981) oil rig was redeployed in June after the 2014 dispute with Vietnam. This time, the rig returned at a crucial moment: just weeks before the first visit by the General Secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong to Washington. With a rapprochement that is leading towards a US–Vietnam comprehensive partnership, the meeting’s agenda also includes South China Sea concerns, to China’s annoyance.
The move itself, announced by China’s maritime safety authorities, also comes soon after the country indicated it was close to completion of its land reclamation activities in the maritime heart of Southeast Asia. Owned by the China National Offshore Oil Cooperation, the rig will officially operate from 26 June to 20 August 2015.
While the oil rig’s present location is not as close to Vietnam as it was in 2014, China’s intent is clear: achieve tactical dominance in what it deems its own waters. Moreover, control over this area with nearby nuclear-armed submarines in Hainan Islands secures China’s second strike capability to counter any hypothetical US nuclear strike.
Read the full story at The Diplomat