Chinese media call for territorial challengers to be made to pay an 'unaffordable price'

@bannedacctsam: Of course Vietnam always many steps behind China if following the current big bro foot steps !. It just like my real life experience..... Recalling my teenager years, I could not grow up to be a responsible adult until I stopped following my bad ass big bro and chose my own path in life:).

I bet you from this coastal stand, Vietnam is soon to choose a different path for her future development, and that would be a positive direction for a peaceful region don't you think !.

@bad hair day: You are absolutely right !. UNCLOS 1982 defined the EEZ of 200miles from the continental coast line. However, I think 12miles allowed for Island, and little or nothing for reefs and rocks. Perhaps we can understand why big red bro is so keen on controlling those reefs and rocks, filling them up and build mega cities to claim the natural title of Island.. Well, you'll know the rest to the result for east & south China seas if that to happen ...:)

@Jeff Huffman

Both Vietnam and China are communist states.

Yes, China and Vietnam's economies are based on State Capitalism economic model - but that change the fact

that both countries are ruled by a single party that use Marxist ideology as a guiding principle to govern.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_capitalism#Current_forms_in_21st_century

bannedacctsamMAY. 13, 2014 - 06:00PM JST The woman in the white dress is holding up a sign that reads "STOP RED CHINA BULLYING IN VIET NAM SEAS." Does anybody else find that statement ironic considering that Vietnam is also a communist nation? Just saying.....

Neither country is communist. Both have central state authority but have now embrace capitalist economies. It is now fully twenty years past the time that you could consider either nation to be organized around a communist economic or social system. It's also time that people stop trying to use the word as criticism of either nation. It's just silly.

@Kenny76 @LeChatBotte

While I share your optimism for a free/democratic Vietnam in the future, I disagree with your assessment on the current state of Vietnam. According to the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom published by The Heritage Foundation

Vietnam is ranked 147 behind China at 137.

http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking

http://www.heritage.org/index/country/vietnam

@OssanAmerica

No not really. The problem is not whether a country is "communist" or not.

It's a matter of semantics, Red Russia & Red China - meant communism during the 80's. Still, I do share your view that China and Vietnam should should resolve this dispute diplomatically and in accordance to the rule of law.

The Chinese govt. is trying to push a world view that flies in the face of international norms and UN conventions. They are beginning to use military force to back up their claims. This is going to be a problem. You have to wonder what they think the outcome is going to be. It's starting to look ugly.

bannedacctsamMAY. 13, 2014 - 06:00PM JST Regarding the picture for the article -

The woman in the white dress is holding up a sign that reads "STOP RED CHINA BULLYING IN VIET NAM SEAS."

Not really if you consider that HCM City -> Saigon was the last bastion to fall before Vietnam became "communist" and that the Vietnamese CP is less capable than the Chinese CP at curbing freedom of speech

@Kenny76

The simple fact is big red bro China is positioning the supper ocean rig 80miles inside Vietnam's 200miles exclusive economic zone.

Where Vietnam's EEZ lies is dependent on who owns the Paracels. You don't just automatically get a 200 mile EEZ. Even the EEZ around Hainan island would overlap that of Vietnam if that were true. I would need to see the area pinpointed on a map, but the press does not seem in any hurry to be so precise. I wonder why?

The incident with the fishermen in Philippines (even as a Chinese born person, I refuse to even acknowledge the PRC's BS and fraudulent claims) involved several hundred protected species turtles, apparently.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/05/12/philippines-charges-chinese-fishermen-with-poaching-in-disputed-waters-despite/

Very rich for the PRC to claim blackmail, indeed.

@bad hair day. C'mon now !. Why try to complicate the issue here ?.

The simple fact is big red bro China is positioning the supper ocean rig 80miles inside Vietnam's 200miles exclusive economic zone. Defined by the UNCLOS 1982 and China was one of the key signatories.

What else is there to discuss really ?

According to Vietnam news with photos, big red bro China is protecting the rig with more than 80 surveillance ships, including sub hunters, warships and daily low passes by warplanes from Hainam’s airbase...

@Cliffy: The major China military bases are located at Hainam island, more than 600km to the north. According to Vietnam news, the supper ocean rig will be used as a new floating base by China, only 120miles off the coast of Hoi An city.... Anyway, there will be no real winners from any war, and that would be the last survival option for Vietnam when nothing else will work..

If you look at the map, you can see that within about 10-20 km from where the incident happened is a Chinese military base and about 100 km away from Vietnam coast. Even though that base is really nothing, but it is still a base. As someone siting on side line, I will say, fight , fight, fight.

bannedacctsamMay. 13, 2014 - 06:00PM JST Regarding the picture for the article - The woman in the white dress is holding up a sign that reads "STOP RED CHINA BULLYING IN VIET NAM SEAS." Does anybody else find that statement ironic considering that Vietnam is also a communist nation? Just saying....

No not really. The problem is not whether a country is "communist" or not. The problem is a country's behavior and attitude towards the international community. Whether a country, regardless of size or power, relies upon diplomacy and the rule of law to settle disputes, or whether it prefers to use force and intimidation. China, under CCP rule has clearly become militaristic and nationalistic, and on a territorial expansion program that shows little regard for the positions of other neighboring countries.

@bannedacctsam: It looks like Vietnam is starting the new road to shake free from the red shackel of communism and the big Red north as a form of self protection. Vietnam is turning Blue by the look of it !. May be their new flag will come out with the new colors Red, White and Blue land of the free !. One can see lots of potential for the new Vietnam .

I've been following the Vietnamese media over the last few weeks, and very much to my surprise seeing the new forms of free expression and discussions by many major national new papers. Many articles calling up for national reforms toward democratic and freedom. I've never seen such articles printed on the state run media before. I am a positive person, and I can see some good things for Vietnam emerging from the current coastal invasion by the big northern red bro.

China has controlled the Paracels for decades. If China sends an oil rig, the Vietnamese should not be going anywhere near it.

The Paracels have quite a history of going back and forth. But to back up the Vietnamese claim to them, you essentially have to justify the French Colonialism that linked them most strongly to Vietnam. Or, in a very contrived manner, you choose some point in history that suits you.

But if you go all the way back, the islands have proof of Chinese activity from 618 A.D. Earliest I know of for Vietnamese activity is 1460.

Of course I know that the concept of "I just plain hate China" is going to guide a lot of people's opinions on this.

This is just more evidence of the ugliness of Sinocentrism. "We are Chinese, we are world power, we can do no wrong" is what the state-run media has effectively stated.

Regarding the picture for the article -

The woman in the white dress is holding up a sign that reads "STOP RED CHINA BULLYING IN VIET NAM SEAS."

Does anybody else find that statement ironic considering that Vietnam is also a communist nation?

Just saying.....

“A rat will not be pacified when we hesitate to pelt it for fear of smashing the vase beside it,” it [The China Daily] added.

The only 'rat' is China under the CCP - and ironically, this is good advice for those nations opposing them.

If you have to ask how much, you can't afford it.

there will be military conflict if China keeps up this cr@p. itll cost China a lot more in the long run. whod in there right mind start a factory in China when you have dictators running the show. there are cheaper friendlier countries that would happily take business away from China, eg Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Burma. you can see this hapening in the last few years.