East Sea tensions: Spotting a Chinese reconnaissance ship off the coast of central Vietnam

China sent a reconnaissance ship, escorted by a police force, to Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea, according to Benarnews.

This incident is said to have occurred at a delicate diplomatic moment.

Japan’s new prime minister is scheduled to visit Vietnam next week. The Nikkei newspaper reported Wednesday that Japan plans to sell defense equipment to Vietnam, a move that China is likely to oppose because it sees Japan as a strategic rival.

Vietnam has yet to officially oppose this action by China.

On October 15, Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said that Vietnam opposes the so-called ‘Tam Sa city’ that China illegally imposes on entities in the South China Sea, related to Information on 400 Chinese companies operating in Truong Sa and Hoang Sa, according to Tuoi Tre.

The research and reconnaissance vessel Shiyan-1 left Haikou Bay in China’s Hainan province on Monday (October 12) and was 70 nautical miles from Quang Ngai province in Vietnam on Tuesday (October 13). ), according to The data was evaluated by Radio Free Asia, a BenarNews partner organization.

As of Wednesday morning (October 14), Shiyan-1 was 78 nautical miles off the coast of Binh Dinh province. Both areas are located along the central coast of Vietnam.

The Shiyan-1 inspection vessel is operated by the Institute of Acoustics, a research center specializing in underwater acoustics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, according to the International Maritime Organization database. This ship was ejected from the Eastern Indian Ocean by the Indian navy in December 2019 on suspicion of mapping the topography of the ocean floor for military purposes.

Chinese Coast Guard vessel No. 2305 escorted the Shiyan-1 to Vietnamese waters on Monday, but then departed in the opposite direction and returned to Hainan.

The data also found that five vessels operated by the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance Agency appear to be monitoring both Chinese vessels as they enter Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

RFA discovered Shiyan-1 on July 16 conducting a study that spanned nearly 330 nautical miles in a large area of ​​the Paracel Archipelago, an archipelago of rocks and reefs in the northern half of the South China Sea. The south and Taiwan claim sovereignty. He then headed to an area about 230 miles east of Chichijima, a remote Japanese island, and conducted a study there until August 24.

On Wednesday, Japan raised concerns about developments in the South China Sea at the beginning of annual talks between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide, who took office a month ago, phoned his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday (October 12) to plan a visit to Vietnam in the context of There are indications that Tokyo is stepping up its involvement. in the field of security in Southeast Asia.

“Japan will work with different countries to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific. That is our idea,” said Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu. he said at a news conference Wednesday morning, according to SCMP.

This week, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces conducted exercises in the South China Sea with the United States Navy. Over the weekend, Japan conducted a private anti-submarine warfare exercise in the South China Sea and then will pay a port visit in Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Bay.

China is monitoring the maneuvers of the Japanese submarines. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijun told reporters in Beijing on Monday: “We hope that the country in question will not do anything that is detrimental to the peace, security and stability of the region.” countryside “.

Trieu said this while traveling to 5 Southeast Asian countries this week, including Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos, Thailand and Singapore, without visiting Vietnam.