Vietnam on Wednesday invited strategic partner India to explore and exploit natural resources within the Southeast Asian countries 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea (SCS) region where China has deployed fighter jets besides surface-to-air missiles ratcheting up tensions.
“Vietnam has sovereign rights and jurisdiction within 200 nautical miles of our EEZ and continental shelf in accordance with UNCLOS 1982. We are determined to protect our rights and maintain regular activities in our sovereign waters. Accordingly, we shall continue to cooperate with other countries including India to explore and exploit resources within our 200-nautical-mile EEZ,” Vietnam’s Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Tanh told a select group of audience here amid fresh US reports on Wednesday that Chinese Shenyang J-11 and Xian JH-7 warplanes have been spotted on Woody Island in the disputed Paracel Islands chain over the past few days in SCS.
But Vietnam claims sovereignty over both Paracel and Spratly Islands. “…let us be sure and clear that both Paracel and Spratly Islands in SCS belong to Vietnam. We have full historical evidence and legal foundation to confirm our sovereignty over these Islands, which in fact have been owned and controlled peacefully and continuously by Vietnam since the 17th Century when no other countries claimed their sovereignty over these islands. We are determined to protect our sovereignty over these islands,” Ambassador Tanh asserted without mincing any words.
Besides growing defence partnership with Vietnam and recently placing satellite tracking system there, India has been awarded oil blocks in SCS by Hanoi. Despite China’s protests against India continues to be present in these oil blocks from where ONGC Videsh Limited supplies oil to Vietnam. SCS is rich in hydrocarbon besides other marine wealth including fisheries.
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