India to China, Vietnam: Everyone Please Stay Calm
By Saurabh Chaturvedi, 8:04
pm IST, May 9, 2014
India
waded into troubled diplomatic waters on Friday–the tense standoff between
China and Vietnam over a drilling rig in the South China Sea.
China
has deployed an oil rig in a disputed area, and the two sides have massed ships
nearby. Officials from both Vietnam and China allege its vessels have been
rammed by the other’s.
For
New Delhi, it offers an opportunity to present itself as a regional voice
of reason. “We would like to see resolution of the issue through
peaceful means in accordance with universally recognized principles of
international law,” said Syed Akbaruddin, spokesman for India’s foreign
ministry.
“We
have been following with concern recent developments,” he said. “We believe
that maintenance of peace, stability, growth and prosperity in the region is of
vital interest to the international community.”
India
has its own vital interests, too: It holds an oil- and gas-exploration right of
its own in the very same neighbourhood.
India’s
state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp. is exploring a block acquired from
Vietnam. It relinquished an adjacent block in 2011 after it failed to find oil
or gas in the area.
China
claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea where the block
operated by India is located, and China has warned the Indian
company not to drill in the region.
While
the standoff right now is between China and Vietnam, the world is watching.
About 55% of India’s trade with the Asia Pacific happens through the South
China Sea. “The importance of the route is going to rise further,
as India looks strengthen its trade ties with East and Southeast Asia and the
Arctic,” said Amit Singh of the New Delhi-based National Maritime
Foundation.
Mr.
Akbaruddin of the Indian foreign ministry said in his statement that freedom of
navigation in the sea shouldn’t be impeded.
Seven
countries, including China and Vietnam, have maritime and island claims in the
South China Sea. In addition to being important to global trade routes, the
waters are estimated to be rich in oil and natural-gas deposits, as well as
abundant seafood.
U.S.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Thursday that the U.S. doesn’t
take a position on the relative merits of any country’s claim in the area. She
called the decision by China to introduce its oil rig into the disputed waters
“dangerous conduct,” adding that “intimidation by its vessels is concerning and
certainly is representative of provocative actions.”
Tension
has been rising in recent days between Vietnam and China after China parked a
giant oil rig in the disputed waters off Vietnam. The rig, China’s most modern,
has been deployed by a state-owned oil company off the contested Paracel
Islands over Hanoi’s objections.
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