VietNamNet Bridge - On the sidelines of the international conference on Hoang Sa (Paracel), Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands in Da Nang on June 20-21, domestic and foreign scholars expressed their concerns over China's deployment of more oil rigs in the East Sea.

Prof. Nguyen Quang Ngoc, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Historical Sciences Association:

The deployment of additional oil rigs in the East Sea shows that China will seek ways to realize its U-shaped claims.

It will not deploy just one oil rig but many other oil rigs, more airports and will occupy more areas to gradually turn the East Sea into a pond of their own.

China's strategy has always been to move backward to go forward and going forward is to occupy the entire East Sea. Its plot to monopolize the East Sea is very clear.

Mr. Leszek Buszynski, from the National Security College, Australian National University:

It is likely that after 15/8 when China withdrasw the HD-981 oil rig, the rig will be replaced by another one.

Of course the international community will condemn them, warning that China's national reputation will be damaged, but it is possible that China will continue to bully Vietnam.

Advisor for strategic issues of the Southeast Asia Research Group, Subhash Kapila:

The new move of sending new oil rigs to the East Sea shows that China has embarked on a new strategy of "mobile sovereignty".

They hope that by bringing in more oil rigs, they will reinforce their claims of sovereignty over the Paracel Islands.

Mr. Gerhard Will, expert of Southeast Asia and Asia of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs - SWP:

This is a move to increase tension, contrary to the long-term economic interests of the East Sea that the Chinese claimed.

The information about deploying additional drilling rigs in the East Sea, published in Chinese newspapers, can target to to the Chinese public, through which the Chinese government shows the Chinese people that "they have done something."

China does not have a clear and convincing strategy on the conduct in the East Sea. It is also difficult to reach compromise or consensus on this issue in the context of the nationalism is so high among the Chinese people.

Prof. Renato de Castro of the De la Salle University, the Philippines:

If the first oil rig is targeted directly to Vietnam, the next oil rig is likely to be aimed directly at the Philippines.

They will push Vietnam and the Philippines to be in the same boat. It is possible that this is China's reaction before Vietnam and the Philippines "playing volleyball together" on one of the islands in the Spratly recently.

Professor Eric Franckx from Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium

If the oil rigs are deployed to different areas of the East Sea, the countries concerned will be definitely uncomfortable.

So I think the Chinese are raising difficulties for themselves when they make such moves. Such workshops will be held in Malaysia and the Philippines if the oil rigs are pulled close to their waters. I believe that in those countries, the people will be very angry - Thuy Chung

China sends four oil rigs to East Sea

According to Reuters, China has sent four oil rigs into the East Sea in a sign that Beijing is stepping up its exploration for oil and gas in the tense region, less than two months after it positioned a giant drilling platform in Vietnam's waters.

Coordinates posted on the website of China's Maritime Safety Administration showed the Nanhai number 2 and 5 rigs had been deployed roughly between southern China and the Pratas islands, which are occupied by Taiwan. The Nanhai 4 rig was towed close to the Chinese coast.

The agency did not say who owns the rigs.

Earlier this week, it gave coordinates for a fourth rig, the Nanhai 9, which it said would be positioned just outside Vietnam's exclusive economic zone by Friday.

The Global Times, a popular tabloid published by the Communist Party's official People's Daily, quoted Zhuang Guotu, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Xiamen University, as calling the rig deployment a "strategic move".

"The increase in oil rigs will inevitably jab a sensitive nerve for Vietnam and the Philippines," Zhuang said.

China's state oil behemoth CNOOC Ltd has said it had four new projects scheduled to come on stream in the western and eastern South China Sea in the second half of 2014.

It was unclear if the four rigs were part of those projects. A CNOOC spokesman declined to comment, but the company has long said that in a bid to boost production it wanted to explore in deeper waters off China.

CNOOC has said it would increase by up to a third its annual capital spending for 2014 to almost $20 billion. Reuters

Scholars suggest ways to counter China’s actions

As China has not put forth any persuasive evidence proving sovereignty over the two groups of islands [Spratly and Paracel], Vietnam should use all legal maneuvers available to demonstrate to the world that justice is on their side.

International scholars, including those from the US, France, Belgium, and Australia, made the suggestions at an international conference in Danang city on June 20-21.

Their presentations made it clear that the Vietnamese state has established and exercised its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos peacefully and constantly and in line with international law for centuries.

They once again criticized China’s nine-dash line claim that covers more than 80% of the East Sea’s area, affecting the interests of many coastal countries in the region.

General Daniel Schaeffer, former French military attaché to China, Thailand and Vietnam, said China’s East Sea claim is invalid without convincing explanation.

Defying international law, China has over past years sought to realize its groundless claim by infringing upon sovereignty of the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.

The ‘nine-dash line’ claim is no longer just a matter of particular concern of only one country in the region, but now is of utmost concern to the international community. An international consensus should be reached to ask China to abolish its claim.

Professor Jerome Cohen from New York University’s School of Law recommended that like the Philippines, Vietnam should sue China into the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, because the nine-dash line runs counter to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Vietnam can also team up with the Philippines or it can unilaterally sue China in an international arbitration court in accordance with the 1982 UNCLOS, to which China is a signatory.

Professor Eric Franckx from Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, said the 1982 UNCLOS is very important because it takes priority and governs the settlement of sea disputes.

The convention was signed by many countries, including China that agreed to settle sea disputes through the UNCLOS.  This means Vietnam can unilaterally bring China in an international court.

Professor Carlyle A. Thayer from the University of New South Wales in Australia suggested that Vietnam submit a proposal to the UN Security Council, asking for a debate on China’s illegal oil rig placement in the East Sea and its impact on regional security.

As a world power, China may use its veto power to reject any UNSC resolution, but at least the international community will better understand Vietnam’s goodwill and China’s actions, asking China to withdraw its platform from Vietnam’s waters.

Scholar even affirmed that it is unacceptable if any party uses force to change the status quo, destabilize the region and violate sovereignty of another nation, in its attempt to take control of the East Sea. VOV