(South China Sea) The other week, the Chinese decided to deploy its HD-981 oil rig 80 miles inside Vietnamese territorial waters, sparking off huge political unrest inside Vietnam. An oil rig, I should add, which was defended by 80 Chinese naval vessels.
So just why did China pick the sea of Vietnam in which to drill for oil and not elsewhere in the entire South China sea it claims as its own? The answer is somewhat simple. Out of all the countries the Chinese have antagonised with their 9 dash line territorial grab in the South China Sea, only Vietnam hasn't a military pack with the US.
Maybe there lies a good reason why Vietnam has spent a lot of money building up its military forces (still not enough to win any war with China). In testing the waters, the Chinese have shown the rest they mean business, and in seeing how the world has remained silent, it will simply set the stage for further empire building grabs from Beijing.
So just why did China pick the sea of Vietnam in which to drill for oil and not elsewhere in the entire South China sea it claims as its own? The answer is somewhat simple. Out of all the countries the Chinese have antagonised with their 9 dash line territorial grab in the South China Sea, only Vietnam hasn't a military pack with the US.
Maybe there lies a good reason why Vietnam has spent a lot of money building up its military forces (still not enough to win any war with China). In testing the waters, the Chinese have shown the rest they mean business, and in seeing how the world has remained silent, it will simply set the stage for further empire building grabs from Beijing.
