Vietnam protests against Chinese drills in South China Sea

Beijing has always been embroiled in fierce territorial disputes with Tokyo over Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea, and with a host of littoral states over the South China Sea, which it claims nearly in its entirety.

Binh said the action runs counter to common perception of senior leaders from both countries, and defies global law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).

China’s defence ministry late on Monday accused Japanese fighter jets of using their fire control radar to lock onto two Chinese aircraft on “routine patrol” in the Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) it declared unilaterally in 2013.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday offered China conciliatory talks on a long-awaited global tribunal ruling over Beijing’s maritime claims, a week before the verdict.

An worldwide tribunal will rule on July 12 in a case the Philippines brought challenging China’s claims to most of the strategically vital South China SeaChina’s claims extend even close to the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations.

They will finish on the eve of a ruling by an worldwide tribunal in a case filed by the Philippines challenging China’s claims to most of the South China Sea.

“If it’s favourable to us, let’s talk”, Duterte said in a speech before the Philippine Air Force at the former United States military base of Clark, about an hour’s drive from the capital Manila.

“The reality is that nobody wants a conflict, nobody wants to resolve our conflict in a violent manner, nobody wants war”, Philippines Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay told ANC television.

For more about South China Sea dispute, CCTV America’s Mike Walter spoke to Current affairs commentator Einar Tangen.

On Tuesday, China began a week of naval exercises in waters around the Paracel Islands.

Based on the EEZ, the Philippines has the strongest claim on the Spratlys and their resources, with its EEZ covering much of the area.

Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also have overlapping claims to the waters, which are believed to sit atop vast mineral reserves.

China claims almost the whole of the SCS.

There have been deadly protests in Vietnam over China’s decision to build an oil rig off the Paracels.

Building and protecting these structures has resulted in a series of stand-offs between countries in the region, each with the potential to escalate.

Chinese coast guard vessels have used a water cannon on Vietnamese vessels, as well as blockading an island where the Philippines has deployed military personnel.