As coastguard boats circle, Vietnam prepares for bigger challenge in South China Sea

Vietnamese president calls on country to be ready for all possibilities in the disputed waters

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China and Vietnam are locked in a dispute over the South China Sea. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00pm, 12 Oct 2019Updated: 11:10pm, 12 Oct 2019

Vietnam is taking a stronger stand in its dispute with China over territory and resources in the South China Sea, and a direct confrontation seems unlikely for now, analysts say.

Tensions between the neighbours showed no signs of easing this week as Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong, in his role as general secretary of the country’s ruling Communist Party, called on it to “prepare for possible opportunities and challenges” in the disputed waters.

On Monday, Trong told the 200 members of the party’s central committee that they must take stock after three months of tensions between Beijing and Hanoi over the Vietnamese-controlled and resource-rich Vanguard Reef.

In July, the Chinese survey ship Haiyang Dizhi 8 and its heavily armed coastguard escorts began making passes through an oil block operated by Russian energy company Rosneft, Hanoi’s exploration partner in the area.

Vietnam accused China of territorial violations, while Beijing said the Haiyang Dizhi’s seismic survey mission was “legitimate and reasonable” and that foreign-owned oil operations on the reef violated China’s interests.