-(The Wall Street Journal 23/5) Countries Around South China Sea Bolster Claims With Island Outposts: In many ways, the towns on the atolls of the South China Sea are just like communities elsewhere: They have houses, post offices, schools, health clinics, and citizens who use them.-(The National Interest 23/5) The Next South China Sea Crisis: China vs. Indonesia?
-(The Nation 23/5) China's maritime push divides the region: China recognises that it cannot challenge Washington militarily any time soon, but it is convinced that it holds a huge edge over the United States in its economic ties with China's neighbours.
-(Vietnamplus 22/5) Vietnam to resolutely defend sovereignty: Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has underscored that Vietnam will resolutely defend its sovereignty and legitimate interests because territorial sovereignty, including over its maritime zones and islands, is sacred. -(Vietnamplus 22/5) Foreign reporters updated on PM’s East Sea issue stance
-(Reuters 22/5) White House supports legal action to resolve China, Vietnam dispute: The White House said on Thursday it would support the use of legal action by Vietnam against China to resolve a dispute after the deployment of a Chinese oil rig to disputed waters in the South China Sea. -(Fox News 22/5) Vietnam threatening to take legal action against China amid tense territorial standoff
-(QDND 22/5) More voices back Vietnam in East Sea issue: Many foreigners on May 21 joined the Vietnamese community in Switzerland in a demonstration in front of the United Nations office in Geneva to protest China’s aggressive act of illegally placing a drilling rig in Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.
-(Vietnamnet 22/5) Vietnam informs int’l organisations on East Sea situation: The Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations Office, the World Trade Organisation and Other International Organisations in Geneva on May 20 issued a press release on the recent developments in the East Sea and Vietnam’s position on the situation.
-(The Japan Times 22/5) Japan, Vietnam blame China for maritime tensions: Japan and Vietnam agreed Thursday to enhance bilateral cooperation on maritime security, criticizing China for increasingly assertive actions that have led to clashes between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels in the South China Sea.
-(Reuters 22/5) Conflict risk in South China Sea could hurt global trade: Territorial tensions in the South China Sea endangers global trade and puts at risk recovery from a global financial crisis, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said on Thursday.
-(The Interpreter 22/5) Explaining China's behaviour in the East and South China Seas: What does Beijing hope to achieve by alienating its neighbours and undermining regional stability? –(The Wall Street Journal 22/5) South China Sea Tensions and the Future of Asean
-(Kyodo News 22/5) Japan, Malaysia to cooperate in stabilizing South China Sea: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed Wednesday with his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak to enhance maritime security cooperation, stressing the need for a peaceful solution to territorial disputes between China and its neighbors in the South China Sea.
-(Reuters 21/5) Vietnam, Philippines jointly denounce China's maritime moves: Vietnam and the Philippines are determined to oppose Chinese infringement of their territorial waters, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said on Wednesday, calling on the world to condemn China's actions in a rare public show of unity bound to infuriate Beijing.
-(BBC 21/5)Russia signs 30-year gas deal with China: Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed a multi-billion dollar, 30-year gas deal with China.
-(Vietnamplus 21/5) Malaysia concerned over East Sea tensions: The Malaysian government has expressed serious concern over ongoing developments in the East Sea while emphasising the need to work toward an early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). –(Vietnamplus 21/5) Australian scholars: China needs to stop unilateral act in East Sea
-(Vietnamplus 21/5) Vietnamese Foreign Minister talks East Sea issue with US counterpart: Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on May 21 held phone talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry on bilateral relations and recent developments in East Sea.
-(U.S. Department of State 20/5) Daniel R. Russel: Statement Before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific: The U.S. intends to provide more than $18 million in new assistance for Vietnam to enhance the capacity of coastal patrol units.
-(Eastasiaforum 21/5) Oil rig incident means Vietnam–China relations face a new test: The current face-off between Vietnam and China over the latter’s installation of its deep-water oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 deep within Vietnam’s claimed exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is probably the biggest test for their bilateral relations since normalisation in 1991.
-(Vietnamplus 20/5) Vietnamese National Assembly hears East Sea issue summary: Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh presented a report on the current East Sea issue at the seventh session of the 13th National Assembly on the afternoon of May 20th. -(Vietnamplus 20/5) Vietnam advocates protecting sovereignty by peaceful measures
-(Vietnamplus 20/5) Indonesia pledges to seek measures for East Sea de-escalation: Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has said his country will do its utmost to ease the current tension in the East Sea. -(Vietnamplus 20/5) Chinese people in Vietnam resent China’s East Sea action
-(Tuoitre 20/5) China military planes support illegal oil rig in Vietnam’s waters: China has used military aircraft to support over 130 ships it deployed to guard oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 that has been planted illegally in Vietnamese waters in the East Vietnam Sea since May 1, the Vietnam Coast Guard reported Monday.
-(Channel NewsAsia 20/5) Russia turns to China amid Europe sanctions: China and Russia have moved to enhance political and economic cooperation, which analysts say is part of Moscow's strategy to counter European sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine. -(Channel NewsAsia 20/5) Vietnam and China lock horns over sea row
-(VOA 20/5) US Navy ‘Shaping Events’ in South China Sea: The United States' top naval officer said the Navy’s growing presence in the Asia-Pacific region is beginning to show results and shape events, but acknowledges it will be ‘a long-term effort.’
-(The National Interest 20/5) China's Grand Strategy Disaster: While Beijing's power is growing, so are its problems. So why is it picking fights with so many of its neighbors? –(The Wall Street Journal 20/5) A Hole in the U.S. Approach to Beijing
-(Reuters 19/5) Philippines' Aquino says China violates informal code on sea: Philippine President Benigno Aquino accused China on Monday of violating a 12-year-old informal code of conduct in the South China Sea with land reclamation work in a disputed shoal.
-(Reuters 19/5) Foreign manufacturers maintain faith in Vietnam despite riots: Most large companies operating in industrial parks hit by anti-China riots in Vietnam last week have resumed operations, underscoring the irresistible pull of the country as a low-cost manufacturing hub with a relatively skilled workforce.
-(QDND 19/5) Rallies in US protest against China’s illegal act in East Sea: Hundreds of Vietnamese people living in Washington D.C and surrounding areas on May 18th gathered in front of the Chinese Embassy to protest China’s illegal placement of the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. –(Vietnamplus 19/5) Vietnamese abroad continue opposing China’s illegal act
-(The National Interest 19/5) China's South China Sea Play: The End of Beijing's "Peaceful Rise"?: China’s behavior can only prove that its “peaceful rise” theory is dead. Beijing’s assertiveness and aggressiveness have driven many of its neighbors away.
-(Antara News 19/5) Intensive communication necessary to resolve South China Sea dispute: Indonesia has called on all sides involved in the South China Sea dispute to hold continuous and intensive communication in order to maintain stability in the region.
-(The Wall Street Journal 19/5) What the U.S. and China Aren’t Saying About the South China Sea: Even as China grows increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, the United States maintains that it’s not attempting to contain China. At the same time, China continues to insist it’s firmly committed to its “peaceful rise.” Are both sides faking it?
-(Inquirer 19/5) China demands ASEAN stay out of Vietnam dispute: China has criticized the top official of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for saying Beijing intruded in Vietnamese territory, and a Chinese official has demanded the group stay out of the dispute.
-(Rappler 19/5) Philippines, Indonesia agree to draw sea boundary: This will make it clear for Filipino and Indonesian fishermen, among others, which parts of the sea they can explore and exploit for resources
-(Tuoitre 18/5) Attack from Chinese ship leaves 2 Vietnam fishermen badly injured: Two Vietnamese fishermen sustained serious injuries after being attacked by people on board a Chinese vessel in the East Sea on Friday. –(Tuoitre 17/5) Video: Chinese vessels attack Vietnamese ships in Vietnam's waters
-(SCMP 18/5) Beijing’s dangerous arrogance in the South China Sea: China’s current behaviour vis-à-vis its South China Sea neighbours is aggressive, arrogant and smacks of Han chauvinism and ethnocentrism. –(The Jakarta Globe 18/5) In the South China Sea, It’s Divide et Impera
-(Tuoitre 18/5) 2 Chinese dead in Vietnam riots: police chief: Two Chinese were killed and about 140 other Chinese suffered injuries during worker riots this week triggered by violent people who had taken advantage of peaceful marches against China’s illegal placement of oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnamese waters to cause the deadly unrest, according to Lieutenant General Hoang Kong Tu.
-(Vietnamplus 18/5) International calls for peaceful resolution of East Sea dispute: Several Italian parliamentarians have called on concerned parties in the current tension on the East Sea to seek peaceful and cooperative solutions in line with international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, to ensure freedom of navigation. –(Vietnamplus 18/5) More protest against China’s illegal act on East Sea
-(Tuoitre 17/5) Deputy PM affirms Vietnam’s demand for removal of Chinese rig: Vietnam resolutely requests that China remove its oil rig from the Vietnamese waters immediately, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh said during his separate phone talks with the foreign ministers of Russia, Indonesia and Singapore on Friday.
