Sino paper presses for stronger act vs PH

From the Manila Standard Today (May 17): Sino paper presses for stronger act vs PH

A state-run Chinese newspaper backed the use of “non-peaceful” measures against Vietnam and the Philippines Friday, as it considered the possibility of war in the strategically vital South China Sea.

Vietnam is experiencing its worst anti-China unrest in decades following Beijing’s deployment of an oil rig to disputed waters, with at least one Chinese worker killed and more than 100 injured.

“The South China Sea disputes should be settled in a peaceful manner, but that doesn’t mean China can’t resort to non-peaceful measures in the face of provocation from Vietnam and the Philippines,” the Global Times newspaper wrote in an editorial.

“Many people believe that a forced war would convince some countries of China’s sincerely peaceful intentions,” the paper added.

Beijing claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, including areas close to the coasts of other littoral states, and the Philippines has provoked its fury by seeking United Nations arbitration in the dispute between the two.

China’s foreign ministry has condemned both Manila and Hanoi, and accused Vietnam’s leaders on Thursday of “indulgence and connivance” with anti-China demonstrators for failing to rein in the protests.

Beijing has also dispatched to Vietnam a working team led by assistant foreign minister Liu Jianchao, according to a diplomatic statement.

At a news conference on Friday, Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang warned that the riots could have repercussions for Vietnam’s business interests.

“The incident has led Chinese companies to stop operations and suffer enormous property losses,” Shen said.

The official Xinhua news agency, wrote in a commentary that Hanoi “bears unshirkable responsibility for the violent attacks against Chinese companies and nationals, and must take all necessary and effective measures to ensure the safety of foreign companies and nationals in Vietnam”.

But in Washington, US Vice President Joe Biden voiced “serious concern” about Beijing’s actions, even as a top Chinese general vowed to protect an oil rig that has triggered the protests in Vietnam.

Washington, which this week hosted Chinese General Fang Fenghui, chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army, is increasingly concerned about Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the resources-rich South China Sea, where several countries and territories have overlapping claims.

Biden and Fang met at the White House, where “the vice president underscored the United States’ serious concern about China’s unilateral actions in waters disputed with Vietnam.”

“The vice president reaffirmed that while the United States does not take a position on the competing territorial claims, no nation should take provocative steps to advance claims over disputed areas in a manner that undermines peace and stability in the region.”

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/05/17/sino-paper-presses-for-stronger-act-vs-ph/