China’s People’s Daily newspaper has published an editorial, criticising what it calls Vietnam’s "huge appetite" in the South China Sea.
The paper accuses Vietnam of presenting an image to the international community of "being weak", while claiming sovereignty over almost all the islands and reefs in the area. Saturday’s article mentions 215 oil and gas blocks in the South China Sea which are claimed by Vietnam. It says the claims "expose Hanoi’s ambitions for exclusive occupation of resources" and a desire to turn the waters into the "sea of Vietnam." The article points out that all nations have the right to defend sovereignty using force, under the UN Charter.
Meanwhile, another article published in China’s Guangming Daily re-asserts China’s position that in 1958, Vietnam concurred with Chinese sovereignty over the Xisha and Nansha islands. The agreement was set out in a letter by the then Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong. Vietnam has also given subsequent acknowledgements of Chinese sovereignty over the islands. The article calls on Vietnam to defer to its position as stated in the 1958 letter and other previous commitments.
